Sealed Fates
by Ark Navy
Summary: A year after the events of Symphonia, Kratos returns unexpectedly, seeking an urgent talk with Lloyd. However, Lloyd flees in hopes of concealing a horrific secret. As the truth unravels, alignments are forgotten. Can one side truly win without loss?
1. Prolouge

**Fate's Cruel Mercy**

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**Summary:** But a year after the events of Symphonia, Kratos returns unexpectedly, seeking an urgent talk with Lloyd. However, Lloyd flees in hopes of concealing a horrific secret. As the truth unravels, alignments are forgotten. The battle between good and evil: can one side ever win without loss?

**Spoilers:** DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU HAVE FINISHED THE GAME.

**A/N:** Really, I'm not sure if I'll continue this. It's just a test run of a plot idea that I got from a dream/nightmare thing. But again, should I continue this, I'll most likely use the 'pulling-plot-twists-outta-my-butt' method that I tend to use a lot (successfully too).

Without further ado, my darkfic wanna-be...

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Above us, the clouds seem to cover the sky entirely, they're dark—too dark. With any luck, they'll cancel this tournament. I've got a bad feeling in my gut.

Though that's been there since this day one of this whole ordeal, hasn't it?

All this thinking I've been doing pays me off with a nice, hard blow to the head. It seems I've been spotted, too clearly, there's no escape. I'll just have to act natural...

"Oh, hey, Professor! Uh, wait—aren't you in—?"

"No time for that, Lloyd. Quick, come with me." she hisses, pulling me aside the crowd. I'm backed into a dingy corner, this could get ugly. She looks me directly in the eye. "I don't know how, or why, but Kratos is here, right now. He wants to speak with you."

Not really given a choice, I sputter, "Umm, sure. Okay?"

She nodds, "I'll be right back, stay here." With that, she disappears back into the crowd.

The situation has turned dire, if he sees me, everything could be ruined. There's no reward for failure. In desperation, I look to every nook and corner of this small area I've become caged in... I can't afford doing anything that would set me out of the ordinary, my clothes alone do enough.

Just in the nick of time, I spot a latch in the ceiling; it must lead somewhere, probably for maintenance workers to scrape the bird crap off the statues on the top of the coliseum. Works for me.

A take a great leap upward, slamming the trap door upwards with my shoulder, managing to land my upper body on the floor above. Damn clumsiness, I guess that wasn't included in the contract. Shoot!

Just as I manage to scramble up onto the next floor, Raine, accompanied by Kratos, find their way through the sea of spectators and catch a glimpse of my flight.

Hah, and I thought I was off the hook.

I almost jump out of my skin when I heard his presence behind me; how had he managed to execute that landing so perfectly is beyond me. This, could truly be bad.

I turn my head to my left, so he can't see my right side. I'm shaking; I don't want to do anything to jeopardize him, or anyone here. "Stop." I say, inching towards the edge, "Don't move, or I'll jump." In reality, I wouldn't jump from this height, I wouldn't have enough time to draw my wings, but he doesn't know that. Even if he does, he's smart; he wouldn't dare run the risk.

"Lloyd—" his voice is significantly softer than I've ever heard him, making things all the harder. Damn, I really don't want to do this, this is insane! But I have no choice, it has to be done.

I squeeze my eyes shut; I can't bear to look at him, or anyone else. It's for the better, I try to convince myself. I really hope that's true.

With a quick burst of energy, I spring from the ground onto the top of a pillar nearby. I have to get out of here; I can't be seen by my father. He'll see right through me, I can't afford any slips ups like that.

The pillar extends a good distance ahead, luckily for me. In a panic, I dash the distance of the pillar and prepare for flight. The difference between the two heights isn't great, but I know I can pull it off from here. It'll be a close call, but it'll have to do for now.

Unsurprisingly, Kratos continues to pursue me, yelling things in attempts to stop me, useless, I can't hear any of them anyway. All the better for me.

Again, I take a huge leap into the air. This time though, as soon as I reach the peak of my jump, I dive downward, that's hardly the difficult part. As I descend at mach speeds, the flesh from my back tears in two gashes, from them sprouts my new wings.

_My goddess...! His wings, they're... as black as coal! What's happened to my son?_ I could hear Kratos' thoughts ring through my mind, the concept is new to me, but I won't question right now, I've got to focus on fleeing.

That comment cost him dear time, as he's just now figuring out. From the corner of my eye, I see him drawing his wings almost effortlessly, chasing me in aerial pursuit. Little does he know, I've still got one ace left to play.

There's about ten meters separating me and the ground, if I mess this up now, it's all over. The fighters in the arena below look so frightened, they won't be harmed though, they have nothing to fear. _...Now!_

I open my wings wide to bring me halting to a stop, but before that can happen, I flip and touch off the dirt going upward once again. I hear the audience gasp, make that twice: it seems dad managed what I did. No matter.

I turn sharp right, as does he. Sharp downward, then left, he follows with ease. It's then I see my opening: there's a balcony bridge between three walls, open to face the arena, of course. With quick upward spike, I veer straight at the people standing on the bridge. He trails close behind me, more intent that ever. Perfect.

The reactions of the spectators are too slow to escape, though just as I came within arm's length of the group, using a strong flap of my wings, I miss them by inches, then swiftly circle underneath the bridge, over the wall and out of the stadium. Going by the large crash and screams resonating from the coliseum, I don't believe dad made it.

Outside the stadium, it's surprisingly barren. Obviously it would be out-of-the-question to land in the city, so I'll just have to deal with this deserted plain land for now. There's no place to hide, but plenty of room to run.

Agh, but if I only could! I reach back; these newly incarnated wings still drip with blood and ache terribly. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they suddenly spontaneously combusted into flames. Every muscle is screaming in agony, even as I stand here soothing these searing pangs erupting in every fiber of my new being. It was far too early to have drawn these cursed wings, of that I was well aware. Maybe, just maybe I won't have to—

"_Lloyd_!" It was Zelos, accompanied by just about everyone else, including Kratos. Damn it all, why now? "Lloyd! What's going on? What's wrong?" said Colette, her voice laced with concern; what were the odds of that?

I fell to a knee; the pain was getting worse by the second. I looked down, again to keep my face from being seen. "Don't... come any closer." I warned them gruffly. Though I hate to admit it, it was not for their own safety, but for mine that I was worried.

Despite my inability to see where they stood, I could easily tell it was Kratos who had stepped forward as I took to a kneel, and regardless of my warning, still continued to do so.

"I said **stop**!" I raised my free hand, slowly enclosing it into an open fist, thus constricting my own father. This whole situation when against my human will... but that doesn't account for anything anymore.

Terror stricken, everyone else froze, watching in silent horror as their companion, my companion, suffocated. It wasn't until Sheena broke the icy hush that any mortal sense came to me, "Stop! He's on our side! Don't let your father die at your hands!" her voice near cracking with plea.

My hand begins to shake violently, even if I wanted to, I couldn't find it within myself to kill my own dad. It falls; as does he, barely catching himself at a kneel, gasping for precious breath.

"But whose side are you on?" I pose on them; they don't respond.

An unnatural glimmer in the sky catches my attention, without hesitation I look up. With realization, I can't help but smirk: it's a trap of fate. It's a fluke from fate that a such light shined, a fluke that my little covert has been unearthed because of the light, and a fluke that I have yet to be pulled.

As if on cue, all fades to crimson, and I'm back in the Hall of Derivation. It's dead silent: I have displeased Him with my performance.

It doesn't matter, I'm no longer afraid. Martel knows what she's doing, she'll stop me one way or another.


	2. The Laws of Being

**Fate's Cruel Mercy**

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**A/N**: Hmm, only chapter two and I'm having major WB... this can't be good. Oh well, here's to blind optimism...

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"...So, how long have I gone?" Kratos asked as soon as everyone had assembled in Zelos' home. Immediately after the incident, he had requested they meet somewhere private, saying he urgently needed to inform them on some grim news he had acquired during his stay on Derris-Kharlan.

"A little under a year." It was Raine who answered, "But more importantly, what is it that you have to tell us? I'm assuming it concerns..."

"Yes... perhaps..." he started, but stopped. "How long has Lloyd acting different?"

Colette shook her head sadly, "He wasn't acting any different until today."

"Yeah," Genis added, "He was always his normal, reckless self."

Kratos nodded, "I see, ...Well, from what little I could gather, it seems there's been a drastic change in the Mana of this world."

"What do you mean?" Regal interjected.

"I'm not entirely sure myself. But, when Symphonia was in viewing range of Derris-Kharlan, it emitted a peculiar glow. Almost as if crimson vines where trying to strangle the planet."

Raine looked up from her pondering, "Crimson vines? From where did they seem to stem?"

"Everywhere..." he replied with a sense of lost hope. "One more thing though: how much has the mana tree grown?

Colette beamed optimistically, "It's up to a half a meter!"

"Only that much?"

Her smile faded, "I-Is it supposed to be bigger? I haven't been taking very good care of it, have I? ...I'm sorry."

"No, not that," he said, "Though I doubt it's of any real relevance, but from Derris-Kharlan the tree looked fully grown and prospering."

Zelos sat back in his chair, taking everything in before inputting, "Lemme guess, the tree was swarmed by those red vine things, right? If it is, then that's probably the power source of... well, whatever it is we're fighting."

Kratos shook his head, "To answer your question, it was just the opposite. The tree was completely devoid of any glow. But more importantly, before we can come to any conclusions, we need to find out exactly what it is that we're up against."

"Or even if we should be against them at all..." Presea pointed out.

"Perhaps," he conceded, "But if they were one to attack us, then it is assumed they had a reason for doing so, such as keeping hidden a secret..." The words jogged his memory, the peculiarity of his son refusing to show his face just before disappearing. "What about the strange markings? Could anyone decipher those?" he said, glancing towards Raine.

She, in return, gave him quite the odd stare, "What markings? Where?"

"You didn't see? They were all over his face, certainly not of this world."

Sheena shrugged, "I didn't see anything."

"Me neither." Colette added; all else made it known they had not seen anything of the sort. Kratos still remained unconvinced, he knew he had seen something, just what it was, was unclear.

-----

This is boring...

I've been sitting here for how long now? Well, at least there are chairs... and tables... somehow. Ah, finally. He's arrived. "What took you so long?" I growl, continuing to fiddle with a small dagger.

"Ehe, sorry, got help up for a while..."

"So what's going on? What should we do next?"

He sits down across from me, "Not much we can do, at the moment. I've managed to side-track them, but it's only a matter of time until one of us is found out."

"...How many know again?"

He pauses, recounting. "...Three, er, out of eight. Including me."

I set the dagger down on the table, and cross my arms. "Agh, do you think they'll ever understand?"

"Well, if you can understand it, I think just about anyone can." He laughs, I don't find it as funny. "Oh, lighten up... think about it this way..." he says, grabbing the dagger and wiping the blunt side across his sleeve. It shines, but I'm still not getting it.

He props it up, pointed end into the table. "Imagine that we're each like this dagger." I nod, he continues, "We each have a light reflected off us, or the 'goodness' of our being, but no matter how greatly we shine—" he pointed to the ray of light streaming on the table, then flips the blade so that the rusted, duller side faces the light, "—behind us always lies a dark streak." he motions to the long shadow stemming from the knife. "Now some people, are very open and about their dark streak, such as assassins and people of the sort..."

"...Like us..." I add in, a bit disheartened.

"Quiet, I'm not done! ...Anyway, there are those, and then there are people who face neither the dark, nor the light." The thin razor between the blunt sides faces me. I look to see my own reflection staring back at me, half shining with light, the other grey and dismantled.

"...Can you find the light reflecting off the 'good side'?" he asks me. I cock my head, but fail to see any light flowing.

"There isn't any light there." I reply offhandedly.

He smiles, "And that is the view most taken by the populace. They see no heroism what-so-ever in this person while seeing only their antagonistic natures. When really—" he turns the blade just a bit so that a sliver of light can be seen past the dark shadow. "—the integrity and right intent was there all along. Are you getting the metaphor?"

I want to say I do, but in all honesty, I don't. "Erm, not, uh, really..."

He sighs, "What we're doing is the same as the people facing neither light nor dark. Everyone perceives what we're doing _against_ the world, but are blind to what we are doing _for_ the world, how 'bout that?"

"Oh! I get it now!" I beam, "Thanks, I feel a lot better about this now."

"Sure thing, bud. Now, what path should I lead them on?"

Due to my lack of originality, and too much on my mind, I say, "I dunno, you're creative, make something up! As long as you've already got Origin's okay."

He waves it off, "Yeah, yeah, that's all covered and branched out from there. Aska and Luna are on their highest guard."

I feel waves of relief lapping at my feet, "Good... Whatever happens, we can't let anything slip, especially something as drastic the sun blackening or the moon blowing up, or something... or..." ...before being bowled over by icy tidal waves of realization. "Oh my gosh! I forgot the Tower of Salvation! I've gotta—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What're you gonna do, turn it off? That'd be worse than the sun or the moon going whack!"

"Then what can we do? Let the world see their only symbol of hope be engulfed by dark flames!"

He closes his eyes, giving this much thought. He smirks deviously, "...It'll all be an accident. Derris-Kharlan will have a sudden explosion, and debris will hit the Tower, causing it to disappear. It'll all be a freak accident."

"It's too risky!"

"Dammit, Lloyd! We don't have a choice! We strived to create a world in which everyone can prosper without sacrifice! We did as much as we could but now we're in a deficit! For every pull there must be an equal and opposite push!"

"Don't you think I know that already!"

"Do you? The world is full of checks and balances, high points and low points; it's the way the life works! You can't defy the laws of being!"

The engravings on my right side ignite, burning away at the living flesh. "I know. That's why we have to beat them at their own game if they can't play by ours."

"...You're too selfless for your own good." He says brusquely before teleporting out of sight.


	3. Spirits

**Sealed Fates**

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**A/N**: As you may have noticed, I changed the title to "Seal Fates", now that I actually have the whole thing planned out (for the most part, anyway) I believe it'll be more fitting to the story.

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"Well, guys, the Goddess has truly graced us with a stroke of good luck!" Zelos announced to his little group, consisting of himself, Raine and Sheena, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"What is it?" Sheena perked up immediately; needless to say, she wasn't a big supporter of this whole thing, but if it was for a benefit, then there wasn't a way in the world that she wouldn't join.

"Crude comments aside and skipping a lot of arguing and a metaphor," he said, "Our next task just happens to be located with the Tower of Salvation, just as Kratos assigned us."

"Indeed, almost unbelievable..." Raine nodded in agreement, "Are you sure Kratos isn't in on it, too? After all, he is Lloyd's father..."

He swatted the idea away with his hand, "Nah, don't you remember what happened at the coliseum? Lloyd fled from him, he even put guiltless people at risk to try and hide the situation from Kratos. To put innocents at risk isn't something he'd do just to put up a façade to people he obviously already trusts."

"That is very true..." she said, "Nevertheless, we should still keep the theory in the back of our minds. In the meanwhile though, what is it that we need to at the Tower of Salvation, as far as Lloyd's plans go?"

"That's the thing we argued about for a while. He said we should destroy it, but I didn't think that would be the best thing to do."

Sheena shook her head, puzzled, "Why would he want to destroy the Tower of Salvation? That would alert the world that something is going on. We'd have riots, crusades, not to mention it'd go against every attempt at secrecy we've given!"

"Yes, there's that, but weigh it against the current image of the Tower, what with it slowly being eaten by acidic flames..." Zelos trailed off as he gazed to the east, where the Tower valiantly stood amidst a deep maroon blaze licking at its base. Even the artistic impressions binding the Tower glowed faintly a light burgundy.

After a moment of consideration, Raine spoke up. "In any case, let's not make any rash decisions just yet. We still have to investigate inside the Tower before we can come to an erudite conclusion."

-----

"What... are those... _things_!"

Upon entering the Tower of Salvation, they became both captivated and frightened at the sight that greeted them. Orbs of light as far as the eye can see; hovering, coiling, twisting and darting through every alcove. Some seemed playful and wily, those in buoyant, harmonious hues; others adamant and fearsome, darkness and unyielding swirling through their aura.

But weaving maladroitly through the dance of lights, were primitive creatures adorned with undersized wings, each carrying a writhing bundle over their scrawny shoulders. They were furless, with rough, wrinkled, claret skin divergent from their soft blue eyes.

At first, the encroaching trio were paid no heed by orb or creature, however it wasn't to last. From a psychotic rush, a darkened sphere came to an abrupt halt. Screeching an unearthly howl, it charged with blood lust towards Zelos, who made no effort to stop it.

At the last possible second, a creature swooped in out of nowhere, catching the astray orb, and then indifferently continuing on its way.

Finally regaining the courage speak within this supernatural haven, Sheena kept a keen eye on the stray spheres around her. "What the hell is going on in here?" Regardless, she couldn't bring her voice above a panicky whisper.

"There's nothing to worry about." Raine reassured her, "Both creature and spirit cannot harm us."

Not so convinced, Sheena argued, "But what about that one! It was after blood, I swear!"

Zelos assertively walked forward, taking in more of the scene. He turned around and shrugged. "That one obviously wasn't properly informed. The rest seem to know their place."

"Don't talk like that," Raine quickly reprimanded, "Just because they appear incapable of sensory does not mean that they cannot feel offended by your words. That's the last thing we want to do."

Now she was as lost as ever. "What are you talking about! What are these things? Why are they here? Why—" she paused, feeling an unusual presence behind her. She turned to see a noticeably smaller, light blue orb staring back at her, dancing about whimsically. "—_why is this thing following me_!"

Zelos chuckled light-heartedly at her annoyance towards the whole situation before answering, "It probably knows you from sometime or another."

"What's '_it_'!"

"_They_ are spirits, spirits of people who have passed on." Raine answered simply and Sheena fell quiet. Zelos, sensing her tenseness, smiled and shifted his weight from foot-to-foot in a very Lloyd-like manner. "I wouldn't worry 'bout it too much, Sheena. He doesn't seem vengeful or anything, so he's friendly."

The ball of light bounced up and down as if nodding.

"Let's not let this side-track us," Raine called to them from further down the path. Like lost children, they immediately perked up and caught up to her, heeding her words. "We're supposed to be searching for anything that may explain the world's current situation."

"Yeah, but how can we tell what's news and what's not if we already know what's going on?" He scoffed, nonetheless an honest question. Sheena agreed, perplexed as well, "This whole double agent act isn't going to be as easy as we expected. You made it look so easy, Zelos..." she commented in jest.

He looked a bit taken aback, "Was I really that believable?"

Again, Raine cut into their incongruous conversation, "We don't have time for this. Just follow me..." she muttered, heading towards the transportation platform. Sheena and Zelos obliged, following her lead in a fairly shameful silence. Behind Sheena the spirit tailed, jigging and twirling in complete contrast with the three people it pursued.

-----

Everything's so quiet and serene, floating above, behind, and just about everywhere around this area and me is light hues of greens, blues, yellows... just about every color you'll find in the spring. No one's around, so I doubt I'll be found.

The only thing about me that doesn't scream suspicious is my exsphere, glowing fiercely like the oceans and seas we've crossed. It pulsates with a hidden intent. Every beat sends a wave of agony throughout my entire body; it's still too raw, not to mention sore from His punishments. I tried to assure him what I did was for our benefit in the long run, though it goes without saying, he didn't believe.

Almost instantly, the pulsing comes to a halt, but in its place comes a pulling sensation. It's pulling me towards the tree in all its stubby glory. I comply with its pull, edging nearer to the sapling. The closer I get the more intensely it burns, though unlike the markings engraved in my right side, it causes no pain... in fact, it could even be called soothing...

Now only inches separate me from the plantlet, and had it not been for the key crest restraining it, I'm sure the exsphere would be flying about in a psychotic rage. I lower to a knee to bring the tree to eye level, there's something about it...

Hesitantly, I move my hand towards one of its pure, healthy, green leaves, stroking it with my thumb as if it's the most wonderful thing on this planet. _'It's young, healthy and brimming with vitality... It'll serve well...' _I hear; I know it was not an outside voice, nor mine, yet it was so familiar...

I pluck the leaf from the branch. As soon as I do, it bursts into visible mana, blinding me for the moment.

Everything's back to normal... but the Mana tree...! It's... fully grown, and swarming with life. Though my exsphere now lies dormant, almost devoid of any additional power, I've succeeded in releasing the seal on the tree.

And so my race against time itself begins...


	4. Theories

**Sealed Fates**

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**A/N**: This chapter brought to you by ToL and the Laugh Brigade! Answer this question and win a fabulous prize! (Erm, not really, but still): What color are G-Girl's underwear? XD

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"Unless I'm mistaken," Raine began as she investigated the portal before them. "This should lead us to the Spirit World. We'll be entering their territory; there's no telling what could happen there. Don't let your guard down." She reminded, putting a heavy emphasis on being cautious.

Zelos nodded. "Yeah. There won't be anything to barricade the daring spirits, like that one that came after me earlier. So if even one were to manage a preemptive strike on any of us... it'll all be over."

"A real life or death mission, huh?" said Sheena, shivering at the thought.

Her comment was met by a disagreeing—fearful even—shake of his head. Behind him, the spirit accompanying them waved quickly back and forth, relaying the same message. "No, a fate worse than death." Still she remained skeptical. "But what could be worse than death?"

"Let's not find out," Raine said with resolute poise but blatant uneasiness took form in her stride as she boarded the platform. She turned back to Zelos. "So, what's our objective?"

"To seal the portal."

It was Sheena's turn to disagree. "It's impossible to permanently seal a tear in time and space itself. And say we could, what if we later may need use of that portal?"

"She's right," Raine concurred. "Just like the seals on the spirits, a seal on anything else won't last forever. Either until the user expires or—at best—until it becomes too tampered with to work, whether by mortal or natural occurrences. Whatever the case, it's just biding for time."

"That's exactly what we're here to do." Zelos explained, "While I don't think I fully comprehend this whole situation like I should, I know that we have to try and keep the balance during this time of inner turmoil for the planet. As we speak, I'm sure Lloyd's already working on releasing the seal on the Mana Tree."

A few moments of silence passed before Raine slowly nodded, trying to formulate a theory. "I suppose that would make sense. ...Mana is the source of all life for everything—in our universe anyway. These spirits are presumably still connected to our universe so naturally they would seek life through the Mana Tree. However, during these past four thousand or so years of the living worlds vying the limited supply of mana, the spirits' chances of rekindling were bleak. Very bleak.

"When faced with troubling prospects, those who are weak in soul often tend to give up on their current path and search for an easier, more sustainable way. It is possible that with the disappearance of the mana that formerly kept this cycle in place, a foreign presence may have manifested in the Spirit World. With that new presence comes a new way of life, one that may endanger life as we know it."

Understanding what she had said for the most part, Sheena then added, "And us mortals, being the stubborn, persistent almost intolerable beings that we are, we refuse to let go of that path, right?"

"Yes! Very good!" Raine beamed; elated that someone had completely followed her lecture to the end. Zelos on the other hand... well, mum's the word. "Of course, it's only a conjecture. One can only dream to attain the knowledge of a God or Goddess..." she ended with a sigh.

"In any case," he started, breaking the thoughtful silence. "We should probably go ahead and transport. After all, time is not on our side."

"These seals are only temporary though... they can't last as long as we may need them to..." reminded Sheena pensively. "You're very sure this'll be enough?" she asked a final time.

"Nope." He shrugged before joining Raine on the platform. "But I trust Lloyd. He trusted me before when I was with Cruxis and now with this task, so the least I can do is repay his trust."

Sheena smiled, a bit more reassured. "Funny how things come full circle, isn't it?"

-----

Colette clapped her hands together in an affirming manner. "So,"

"Regal and Presea left to investigate the scene at the Coliseum, Zelos, Sheena and Raine are at the Tower of Salvation looking for anything suspicious, Kratos and Noishe headed towards Heimdall for who-knows-why and you and me are here to try and reminisce about any strange quirks with Lloyd we've observed over the past year." Genis crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes in thought.

"Right." She said in her ever cheerful manner.

When nothing came to mind immediately, he opened his eyes. "On impulse, I want to say that I don't remember him being any different than normal," He ran a small hand through his hair, sighing dejectedly. "But if that were the case, then Kratos wouldn't have left us here to mull it over."

"Yes, so let's start from the beginning."

He nodded, a smile forming on his lips. "Lloyd was always a weird kid. Born to a highly intelligent father and a sharp-witted mother, he could've well been the next genius of our world. However, all hopes of such were dashed on the fateful night he was dropped on his hea—"

"Genis! That's mean!" She cut in, trying to sound chiding, but letting a giggle escape to ruin it. "After the fight with Mithos." Genis just continued to laugh.

Colette shook her head and tapped her finger to her chin a few times, "Let's see. After Kratos left, we returned to Iselia for a night's rest. Later in the evening I went to talk to Lloyd at Dirk's house, but Dirk said he hadn't seen Lloyd since he gave him the Material Blades..."

Not finished with his cheap shots, he added in, "Lloyd probably got lost."

"No... He knows that forest like the back of his hand."

"But he always wears gloves! I bet he's never seen the back of his hand!"

"Seriously!"

His laughter finally subsiding, he leaned backwards in his chair resting his arm behind his head. His dead serious tone contradicted his unperturbed pose. "No, he left the village with Sheena; therefore he probably didn't go directly home."

She frowned, "But he was alone when he did arrive..."

Genis merely shrugged. "He was probably just seeing her off as she left for Mizuho or somethin'... Who knows?"

"I think I know..." Colette grumbled bitterly as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

He raised an eyebrow, intrigued by her sudden acrimony. It wasn't often the Little Angel showed any resentment towards anything—or any person for that matter. She's always so friendly towards everyone, he thought, the image of her waving cheerfully to Sheena—known as 'the clumsy assassin' at the time—immediately coming to his mind.

He felt a great curiosity towards this and let it show in his appearance as he leaned inquisitively closer to her. "Are you jealous?"

She wouldn't phrase it as 'jealousy', even though it was. Those feelings existing inside her equated to a Penguinist living in Triet: very foreign and uncomfortable. "After that, didn't he accompany you and Raine for a while?" she said to switch the subject, thus booting the Penguinist back to the tundra.

Though Genis wasn't satisfied with the lack of information he received, he concluded it wasn't the time to press into it. Besides, she had an irregular habit of talking in her sleep about things she normally wouldn't. "Yeah. Off the top of my head, the other weird thing I can remember, aside from him accidentally running into the same tree twice, is that he would always take the night watch. Every single night! He wasn't even tired the next morning either... or at least he didn't seem tired..."

Almost disregarding everything else, she asked, "How does one run into the same tree twice?"

Again, Genis leaned back. "Aren't you the pot calling the kettle black?"

"I don't think I get what you're saying..."

He sighed, "We're never going to get anything done..."

-----

Noishe lay contently outside the Elf Elder's house, basking in the plentiful sun rays. Occasionally a small child would pass by and rub his fur or play with him but other than that he patiently waited for Kratos. He had gone inside to speak to the Elf Elder about the Book of the Underworld about ten minutes ago.

He rolled over onto his stomach, ears flickering blithely, but they stopped immediately as the wind picked up unexpectedly. Now alert and curious, he stuck his nose upward into the swift of the wind. A familiar scent perked his interest and he stood resiliently, sniffing the air deeply.

A small whine escaped his snout as he trotted over to the window. Inside, the Elf Elder and Kratos seemed to be in profound discussion paying no heed to what went on outside. Despite his sharpened senses, he couldn't pick up on their muffled voices but he knew it had something to do with the recent events.

Howling softly, he pressed his paw against the window; still they paid him no heed. A low growl rumbled from his throat shortly followed by a curt bark; still they talked on, but he refused to be unheard. He growled loudly to himself as he placed both paws on the window pane and reared back. Not a bark, not a howl, but a mighty roar rattled the small dwelling.

Kratos and the Elf Elder turned to see if a tree had fallen outside. They saw only Noishe with his noise squashed against the window, simply scratching a few times at the window with his tail wagging innocently. Dogs.

Slightly irked, slightly perked, he bode a thankful good-bye to the Elven Elder and ventured outside. "What is it, Noishe?"

From his place meters ahead, the protozoan looked behind him, howled and bolted out of the village within seconds.


	5. The Ruthless

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A/N**: Hurray! Chapter five! I've been waiting to write this chapter, especially since I REALLY know what's going on. Ever since—well, a pretty long time ago—I finally got a good picture of how this story'll come and go, I thought of this idea and I was psyched to write it and everything... Then I realized I'd have to wait a few chapters until I could slip this in... Hehehe...

I, Ark Navy—Olympian wanna-be and all time Tales fan—do hereby promise to try to update quicker now that I have finished ToL. ...Well, actually, I didn't finish it, but my friend did and she said the ending sucks and the character quests don't have voice-overs, therefore I am unmotivated.

**Post-note**: Wow, this is a long chapter! XD

-----

As soon as they had all boarded the platform, it glowed intensely. All went dark as usual but soon it passed the point of where they should've arrived. Not even the calming aura of the spirit trailing them could be seen.

"...Are we there yet?"

Raine looked around, more out of impulse than actual use. "...Well, we must be _somewhere_ since we can hear each other..."

They could hear Zelos from behind them, his voice traveling forward. They assumed he was walking ahead. "Then as long as we're 'somewhere', we might as well go somewhere."

"Zelos, I don't think you should—!"

His voice traveled further ahead. "Relax, it's not like I'll—Aaaaaaaaaahhh!" His scream faded and was soon swallowed by the deep silence.

Sheena's breaths became ragged with apprehension, her whole body shivered and she felt as if all the warmth drained from her body. "...Ze-Zelos? Zelos? ...Zelos! Zelos, where are you!" When no response came, she turned to where she thought Raine was, shaking terribly. "Raine, what happened?"

She, like her, was shaking though less violently. She tried to hide her fear and sorrow behind a mask of strength. "I...I-I don't know. There's something dangerous up ahead, that's all I know. Just stay calm and—"

The sound of a thunderous slap tore through the perpetual silence surrounding them, and surely somewhere in the world, a flock of startled birds flew from a tree.

"Zelos, you idiot! This is a life or death mission! I don't want to die because of your stupid lecherousness!" Sheena growled, and judging by the direction of her voice, he probably lay somewhere near her feet. She went on, careful to try and hide the relief she felt. "You scared us out of our minds, Zelos! And wasn't it you who said never to let your guard down here?"

He could only respond with a simple, "Ooww..."

Raine mumbled something foul under her breath before they were interrupted by a soft call. _"Who goes there?" _The voice was gentle, almost fragile and seemed so distant. It repeated itself. _"Who goes there?"_

"We are... we come from the world of the living." She stammered; the ninja and Chosen behind her remained cautiously silent.

"_Hmm... I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific than that..."_

"Could you guide us to the seal, please?" Zelos ventured.

The voice seemed to sigh. Sympathy? Empathy? Apathy? It was unclear. _"You poor, poor creatures. You must've passed on so young..."_

Sheena's reply came from a new spot, apparently she had moved forward in an attempt to better communicate with the being. "What? We're not dead! We're still alive, we just came from Symphonia."

For a long while, they received no reply from the voice. Finally, it said: _"For months, years, centuries, perhaps even eternities I have wondered through these plains of thick darkness. If I knew the location of the seal, I would've used it long ago."_

"So you do not know what the seal looks like?" Raine asked, fearing the worst.

"_We have no eyes, therefore we do not see. We have no ears, therefore we do not hear. We have no voice, therefore we can not speak. We do not speak, therefore we do not question; the closer one gets the answer, the less one comes to know. Our search is one of devout and will, not of curiosity. We exist on the belief that beyond the darkness there lays a path back to life and from there a path towards final ascension. Do not attempt to sway us..."_ That being said, the presence vanished, leaving them alone in the barren.

"'The closer you get to the answer, the less you come to know'..." Sheena repeated wistfully, "What did they mean by that?"

"I don't know," Raine said, then laughed softly. "I don't know, maybe that's it: 'I don't know'." She became quiet, "...Zelos,"

"Yo?"

She hesitated briefly before instructing, "Cast a spell on yourself."

He blinked a few times before realizing they couldn't see the confusion on his face, so he quickly added: "Why? What kind? Attacking or defensive?"

Sheena rolled her eyes, another unseen gesture. "Yes, Zelos. She wants you to cast Grave on yourself." Even through the shadows, she could feel Raine's uneasy glare resting on her. "I need to test a theory. If I'm right, you'll see..." she paused, looking for the right word. "...something."

"...Something, huh? If you say so..."

Almost distantly, they spotted the glowing circle that customarily appeared beneath a spell caster. However, the caster was no where to be seen. "You ready for this? ...First Aid!" They heard him call as the circle disappeared, sounding even more distant than before.

Contrary to Sheena, who became fearful with Zelos' sudden vanishing act, Raine spoke in a calm manner. "Good. Now, what do you see?"

-----

"Over here. Professor Raine said she last spoke with Lloyd over here!"

"Here?"

Presea nodded, observing the cobwebs lining the corners. "Yes. She then brought Kratos over here to speak with him."

Regal looked from corner to arena, and back again. "With this distance, it was highly improbable that they could've started their descent at such a low height. They went up higher somewhere."

She nodded briefly and further inspected the area. Looking upward, she noticed a sliver of sunlight glittering through a crack in the ceiling. "There!" she said, pointing. Painlessly she withdrew her axe and nudged the crack a bit. It shifted and gave way to a trap door. "Regal, give me a boost."

He complied and lifted her through the trap door. She took a quick, judging scan over the area before motioning for him to join her. Again he complied. Cautiously, he made his way over to the edge and stared down at the area, it looked like the size of a single gald from his view. "No, it had to be higher still."

As soon as they turned, they turned pale at the sight before them. It was Zelos standing ahead of them mumbling something. They recognized him immediately, but at the same time they knew it wasn't him; it couldn't be him. Though everything about him was normal: his stance, his composure, even down to the beam sword sheathed and hung from his belt...

...except for the fact that he was white and transparent.

Zelos turned, observing everything around him until he met eyes with the two. "...Regal and Presea!" he hissed, sounding alarmed. "I can't... catch... What do I do?"

Presea slowly stumbled towards Zelos. For the first time since either had known her, they witnessed her as the small, scared twelve-year-old child she once was. "Zelos... You couldn't catch Lloyd? An-and he...?"

He smiled sadly. "My cute little Presea..."

"Is it true?" said Regal, his voice significantly less gruff. "You weren't killed by Lloyd, were you?"

He hesitated, no matter what answer he gave their situation would undoubtedly worsen. "I-... I don't know."

"No," she shivered, "No, Lloyd wouldn't do that... he could never..."

Regal lowered his eyes. "We don't know that; not now anyway. The old Lloyd certainly wouldn't, but now..."

Zelos fiercely shook his head. As he spoke, he could feel his voice slipping from him. "I'm not... dead. We... ...trapped..." He could no longer speak. Regal and Presea began to say something, that he could tell, but what they said faded from hearing before his vision finally died and he vanished completely from their world.

"He's... gone..." Presea noted weakly, still horror struck. The death of someone near to her had never fazed her quite as much as it did now. Not even her father's death, or Alicia's frightened her as much as this.

Neither Alicia, nor her father, had died at the hands of someone she called friend, or in such vain. Alicia had died to Regal's hands, neither of them had a choice in the matter, besides, he was resentful—even overly so—for what he had done. Lloyd, however, seemed to have no problem slaying his own dear friend.

And that was the thought that truly frightened them both.

-----

The overwhelming darkness flooded back over him, and immediately he knew where he was. "Could you guys hear me while I was up there?" he asked.

"Here and there, yes." replied Raine, "What we did not hear was when you spoke with Regal and Presea. What did you tell them?"

"The only thing I could think of..." he said, rubbing the back of his head. Somehow, they knew he wasn't overly proud of his answer. "'I don't know'. Then I was going to tell them that we'd trapped a 'specimen', but I don't believe they got the whole message."

"And they said...?" Sheena trailed off waiting for his response.

"They misinterpreted my message and thought that Lloyd had killed me, and the last part..." he shrugged, "I faded out before I could hear what they said."

From the sound of her voice, Sheena seemed exasperated and was most likely shaking her head. "Well, I guess it could've been worse somehow. I don't think we could've gotten out of this without them suspecting Lloyd having something to do with this."

Raine concurred. "Indeed, it was inevitable." She paused before continuing. "Since you saw Regal and Presea, I assume we're at the Coliseum?"

"That's where I was, anyway..."

"So that translates into..." Mumbled Raine to no one in particular. After a moment of silence she exclaimed, "This way! The seal should be this way!"

Sheena reached through thin air in attempts to halt her. "Wait! Which way is _this way_? Taking into consideration I can't even see myown hair in front of my face."

Raine seemed to stop. "...Yes... this could be quite a problem..."

-----

Noishe's meandering run finally screeched to a halt at the Mana Tree. Between panting, the protozoan barked breathlessly and burst into the bushes. Kratos stayed behind, slightly winded; he knew whatever it was that Noishe had gone off to chase was not of a great danger.

Now through the thick bushes, Noishe stood threateningly, ears flickering at every acute sound. He could hear it, somewhere someone was weaving almost soundlessly through the forest with great haste, and unless his five-thousand years of living betrayed him, he knew exactly who that _someone_ was. With another curt bark, be renewed the chase.

The protozoan glided on air as he seamlessly thread through the woodland, keeping a firm lock on the scent he held so dear. It grew stronger with every stride, and soon it was so close it was driving him mad.

At last, his target was in sight, and within a few elongated strides, within reach. Using precious amounts of his reserved energy, he leapt into the air and came down on the hunted. His prey was now face down in the earth and pinned beneath the protozoan's massive weight.

How familiar this was, Noishe thought with a swish of his brush. He whined happily and affectionately licked the ear of the being trapped beneath him. Content with himself, Noishe sat down.

Unexpectedly, black wings sprouted from underneath him and sent the dog flying into a nearby tree. He howled in disgruntlement and stood up weakly. His eyes were suddenly sad and filled dejectedness, nevertheless he timidly ambled towards the person he thought he knew.

"**No**," he said firmly. "Not now, Noishe."

Still Noishe persisted until he was close enough and poke him with his snout. The being held out his hand, palm facing outward; he did not waver as he did this. "Leave. _Now_. Noishe, don't make me do this..."

Neither moved.

Finally he closed his eyes and looked away. From his hand a crimson substance flowed and struck the protozoan head on. Noishe yowled and retracted, writhing in pain. Blindly he fled back to the Mana Tree, crestfallen and miserable.

Once Kratos caught sight of the animal crazed by excruciating pain, he gasped and immediately rushed to his aid. Tenderly, as not to frighten the scared dog, he held his quivering head still and cast multiple healing spells. After sometime, Noishe opened his eyes with a great deal of pain, but closing them as soon as the air hit him.

Every exhale resulted in a strained cry. Kratos was baffled as to why the pain continued regardless of how many first aids he administered until he backed away and got a bigger view.

The entirety of Noishe's face had been covered in crimson-black acidic substance. Whatever did this was the one they were after.

Out of nowhere, another dog, medium sized and covered from snout to the tip of its tail in thick, brown fur. Something about this dog struck a familiar chord with the former Seraph, so he went with his gut intuition and let the dog tend to Noishe's wounds.

Lovingly, the dog licked away at the substance, completely unaffected by the acerbic qualities that had hindered both him and, most painfully, Noishe. He, at first, shook more violently as the foreign presence aided him, but with one whiff of the air, quickly became comfortable with the other dog.

_Almost too quickly_, Kratos noted. Though reluctant to admit it, he, too, felt some tie to the dog. It was as if he was staring from some relic from the past, while staring at an image of both the present and future.

But that couldn't be. After all, it was just a dog.


	6. A Fateful Encounter

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A/N**: The only way I managed to update this fast was because of a great aching. No, I didn't ache to update so badly, but I decided to stay in one place for a string of around four hours due to exhaustion. So why not in front of the computer? A big screen to my right, iPod to the left and a huge bag of pretzels... ah, life is good.

**Post Note**: For a long while, I debated on whether or not to include Raine, Sheena and Zelos in this chapter. Finally I decided against it, they'll be in the next chapter, giving 'em a break for once. XD

-----

I watch him zigzag and stumble in a blind haste until he is out of sight, but still I can hear his howls of pain. I can't help but feel beyond terrible, watching my own friend, the only one who truly knew me as well as I knew myself—perhaps even more—ran from me in mortal pain. For the first time since my father left for Derris-Kharlan, I feel my heart constrict with sorrow and regret.

"Noishe... I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that..." I whisper, hoping somehow he'd hear me and understand.

In my moment of lament, I fail to hear Kratos' swift approach until he's stopped a few meters ahead of me. I should've known—Noishe never travels without company.

He stares intently at me and I return his watch out of the corner of my eye. I can't manage to look him straight in the eye, not after what I've done. I can feel his uneasy gaze rest on the crimson markings that line me. "...You were the one that did this to Noishe, weren't you?" My wings flap impatiently. I don't respond, but I don't need to, he knows the answer. "Why?"

I continue to remain silent, as I unsteadily look away; this visibly angers him. "Lloyd, look at me! You can't keep running around like this! What is going on?"

It takes me a while to muster up a voice with which to reply edgily. "If I told you, it'd take out all the fun."

"Lloyd, you're not a child anymore and this isn't a game. You seek to destroy this world when just a year ago, you were fighting with all you had to save it?"

I shake my head calmly. "I'm still in the fight to save this world. There is just more than one path to the same end."

For a moment, he is quiet, maybe he understands... With another impatient flap of my wings, I turn and begin to walk away, but he's not done yet. "Stop!" I decide to humor him and stop. "I think understand what's going on now. It looks like we have no choice." He says, withdrawing his sword.

I face him, holding both of my arms outwards; my wings spread in response. "I refuse to fight you. You can swing all you want, but I won't strike back."

Despite how determined he is—or said he is—he makes no advances towards me, merely standing there pointing his sword at me. I can see my reflection on the blade. Half of me is shimmering while the other half is blood spattered and dismantled. I smile; Zelos was right.

He takes my grin as one of a taunting manner and charges with a heavy heart, bar it couldn't weigh down his quickness. As he brings his sword back to strike, I take to the air. He expertly recovers and follows me in aerial pursuit, between dodging blows, I say: "C'mon, you're only going half intensity! If you want to put this to an end, you're going to have to choose the world over your other wants!"

"Just like you did with Colette?" He growls sarcastically.

"Seeing a trend?"

I can't keep dodging forever. He's just a sliver ahead of me when it comes to speed, but only because of these huge, hulking wings of mine. They're weighing me down—and at the same time keeping me up? Uum... is that even possible?—while Kratos' pace is on a continuous uphill slant.

Just as I thought, I fall behind and he manages a clean hit with the blunt side of his blade, then another, and finishing the combo with a thunder blade that sends me flying back down to earth. I land near the Mana Tree, right on the joints between my back and my wings resulting in a painful crack.

"Damned... wings..." I half curse and groan. Kratos lands silently and presses his left foot on my shins, trapping me. He points his sword at me; only inches separate me and the cool metal. I am unfazed and glare defiantly. "Go ahead, Dad... End this—save the world. Punish me for the choices I've made. ...After all... it is for the best, isn't it?"

I can see the words I say registering within him, while this is happening though his sword does not budge. I take this as an opportunity to go on. "You know, I actually find it... kinda funny." I add in a weak laugh, "Just a year ago at Origin's seal it was you... you were the one who was asking for death... and now..." I think the agonizing snap and pain in my back has driven me close to hysterical...

He brings back his sword, whether in withdrawal or as a backswing is unsure. Before I can find out, a brown dog leaps from out of nowhere and chomps down on Kratos' arm and pulls it backward violently. He struggles to stay upward but soon is forced back by the dog. I don't know who that dog is, or why it's here, but if the river runs, run with it.

Somehow I manage to pull myself onto my feet and flee as he continues to try and throw off the dog, who is now snarling maniacally and still holding tight.

I look to my exsphere, listless even in the plentiful sunlight. Come to think of it, that dog might not be so alien after all...

-----

"**Off**!" he said, lashing his arm backwards rapidly. The dog lost its grip and was flung into the air, landing carelessly a few feet away. It looked back at Kratos with crestfallen eyes as it meekly picked itself off the ground.

He took a commencing breath, before he realized it was pointless to become livid at dog and readjusted his sword. He looked prepared to slice the dog in two.

Sensing the fury radiating from his companion, Noishe rose and jumped in front of the other dog and bared his teeth threateningly. His eyes were open but they had rolled back into his head giving him the look of a possessed rabid. The crimson substance that had once eaten away at his face had been cleared up for the most part, and other than that, seemed back to normal.

"Calm down, Noishe." Said Kratos placidly; he did not move. "I will not hurt the canine." Assured, the protozoan closed his eyes and lay down on the spot. Immediately the brown dog continued to lick his face, focusing this time on the eyes.

Quietly, the mercenary returned his sword to its sheath and sat down against a nearby tree. His frustration towards letting Lloyd escape was quickly subsiding. Before the dog had bit him, even he wasn't sure whether was really going to do it—if he really would really kill his son.

Sure, when he faced him at Origin's seal, he had said it was a fight to the death, but he didn't really mean it if he had won. He had just said that to stimulate his son's sense of urgency and drive to win—and when he did, Kratos had been ready to accept death with open arms.

He sighed. But I'm still here, he thought drearily, this is exactly what I wanted to avoid...

He turned his eyes on the two dogs. It reminded him of the time long ago when he was with Anna and Lloyd at Izoold. _Noishe was watching over Lloyd as he played in the sand, high tide had just gone out and Lloyd was elated to sit himself down and slop around in the wet sand. The protozoan kept a weary eye on the toddler as he stumbled closer to the waves lapping just beyond the water's edge. _

_Soon Lloyd had found a greater joy than digging in the sand, and had begun trying to pelt Noishe with it. The first two shots missed initially, but soon the protozoan found himself under a barrage of wet sand projectiles. He had become quickly irritated with this, so he picked up the disappointed toddler and moved him back to the dry sand. Feeling content, he lay down a few feet away._

_Lloyd wouldn't let his fun be ruined, or soon forgotten. He picked up a tiny handful of sand and threw it with all his might towards his friend who knew it couldn't possibly make it all the way to him. Unfortunately, the wind picked up and gave the dog an eyeful of sand. He yelped and whined as the sand obscured his vision while Lloyd nearly fell over in a giggling fit._

_Anna looked over and saw the blinded protozoan. "Aaw, you poor thing." She had said sympathetically and proceeded to gently wipe the sand from his eyes._

Looking at the two dogs now, it was as if history was repeating itself before his very eyes.


	7. Risky Trust

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A/N**: It's hard to start a chapter in the dark. Literally.

-----

By some miracle unknown to the trio, they managed to make their way through the darkness in a somewhat effective manner. With the careful guidance of Raine, they managed to stay together and arrive at the seal within a half an hour.

Of course, in the darkness it felt like days.

She brought their group to a halt, and smiled with glee. "Do you see it?" she asked breathlessly, "The seal! We've finally foun—"

Somehow Zelos was able to accurately place his hand over her mouth, "That's _not_ the seal, Raine. I think you're just delusional."

Sheena was just about ready to object when she thought over what he'd said—not so much what he had said though as to how he had said it. Likewise, Raine seemed to catch on. "Oh, yes, I'm sorry. Let's keep looking then." She felt his locks brush her shoulder in an approving nod as he let go of her.

What they stood before was, without a doubt, the seal they had sought. It was unnaturally immense, a swirling abyss of greens, blues, yellows—any and all hues perceivable to the naked eye. Unlike everywhere else, the silence was audible; that is to say, they could tell when there was a silence between them and not just the deafness that stretched for galaxies.

Raine was the first to approach the seal. The smiles of each one of them grew even wider as they noticed for the first time in what seemed like years, they could see one another again. Even if it was just shadowy outlines, it was better than nothing.

"I don't believe it!" beamed Zelos, "Hey, Sheena! How many fingers am I holding up?"

She squinted to identify three solid figures. "Three... and a half?"

"Hehehe, sharp as ever."

"Alright, enough of that." Raine said, turning to Sheena, "I presume you know how to deal with seals such as this?"

Keeping her eyes locked on the seal, she replied professionally, "I'm not familiar with these types of seals exactly, but that doesn't mean it's anything I can't do."

Raine felt only half-relieved. "As much as optimism can help the situation," she went on, more serious now. "I'm afraid I'll need to know you completely know what you're doing before we proceed. This is just too risky to leave in the hands of a 'maybe' or 'probably'."

"Well, all I really need to know is where it leads, and what it does when it comes into contact with something physical." Sheena shrugged, "If I know that, it's a simple matter to seal it successfully."

The Professor nodded, smiling, "In that case, I'm fairly sure it leads to the Mana Tree. Going through the portal would surely put you atop the branches."

"_Fairly sure_?" Zelos teased, "I'm afraid we'll need to know one-hundred percent instead of a _fairly sure_."

"Well then, would you like to be the physical evidence sent through the portal?" she suggested heatedly, hardly one who liked being profitably contradicted.

The tables had turned suddenly on him, how typical. As always though, he managed to pull something smooth out of nowhere and cover his pride. "Sure. Assure me a safe return, and I'll do it." he grinned slyly, "Of course, if that's too much to ask for, I can always replace that for a kiss or two from one of you lovely ladies..."

After awkward glances were exchanged between the two, Sheena began hesitantly removing the bow around her waist. His eyes widened, "Whoa now, what're you doin'? A kiss will suffice—for now anyway—we'll save that for later, huh?"

She glared daggers at him, visibly offended. "I am not one of your cheap floozies! Now get your mind out of the gutter and untie your headband."

"My headband?" he blinked, "What for?"

Beyond flustered was an understatement for the ninja right now. "Just give it to me!"

"Okay, okay, keep your pants o—Ah, uh, didn't mean... um, habit. Sorry. Here, headband." Said Zelos sheepishly. It was completely unlike him to withdraw a comment like that, but with these two, he really didn't want to push his luck. After all, he had learned how evilly vindictive angry women could be and considering the fact that his life could possibly lie in their hands within the next couple minutes, he found the common sense to just shut his mouth.

"There." Sheena affirmed, tightening the knot between the two strands of fabric as taut as they would go. "This knot can never come undone unless I do it myself. Now, Zelos, take this end and wrap it around your hand once and grip it with your life."

He nodded solemnly and grabbed the loose end of his headband, doing just as she instructed. She went on, "Raine, you and I will be the anchors to the Spirit World. Unless we get any signals before a minute is up—that is, two quick yanks on this—we'll reel you in. Whatever you do, _do not let go_!"

As the anchors fixed their grips on their end, Raine advised him. "While you're there, take in all the observations you can, without straying too far of course."

"Gotcha."

Sheena looked to him, "We're ready over here. You know what you have to do, so we're ready whenever you are."

He stared down the portal for a brief moment before turning back to them nonchalantly. "Regardless of whether I get outta this in one piece or not, I still expect at least one kiss from the botha you, hear?" With his will being said, he dove fearlessly into the swirling abyss.

The makeshift rope failed to pull taut. "You realize," Raine began hesitantly, "That this could easily snap?"

"You got any better ideas?" she mumbled; there was no response.

-----

"Genis! Colette!"

All conversation ceased as the two turned to see Presea and Regal burst through the door hurriedly. Genis poked his head over the back of his arm chair while

Colette perked up, looking around the arm chair. Genis was the first to recognize the urgency in their voice, "What's wrong? Did you find him? What happened?"

Regal answered in his usual calm, collected voice. "We did not find Lloyd, instead, we met up with Zelos..."

"What?" Colette blinked, "But he, and Sheena and Raine, are supposed to be investigating the Tower of Salvation."

"That's exactly it," he said, being very cautious towards his choice of words. "He appeared to us in an... unnatural way."

Finally putting two and two together, the young half-elf started to feel queasy with apprehension. "What about Raine?" he asked, trying to hide his fear, "Did he say anything about Raine?"

"No—but that's a good thing." Presea added in quickly. Continuing, "All he said—really, all that he was able to say—was that they couldn't catch Lloyd and were trapped."

"Actually," Regal corrected, "When asked on whether it was Lloyd who had done that he said he didn't know. It could very well be someone, or something, else."

"True," she admitted.

Often with fear can come anger, and though Genis was never usual one to wield a high temper, he wasn't one for small talk when someone he loved was at risk as they bickered. "Right now it doesn't matter who did it! What we need to know is _where_ they are being held and _how_ we can get them out!" Once everyone turned their attention to him, he went on to say, "First off, does anyone know anyway we could contact them?"

When no one else came forward, Regal said, "There is one probable way."

"Anything!"

He nodded and pulled out a small circular object. The object beeped at his touch, its screen flashing with words. "This," he said searching through a list of names. "Is a handheld locator, every aristocrat in Tethe'alla is given one and must carry it with them at all times under penalty of the law. So if Zelos' is anywhere in our world, we might be able to find him."

"It's definitely worth a shot!" Colette beamed optimistically, then turned to Genis. "Don't worry, Genis. I'm sure we'll find them."

"...Here it is, 'Zelos C. Wilder, Chosen of Mana'." Everyone crowded around the Duke as he hit the 'Locate' button, waiting anxiously.

_Searching... Searching..._

_-----_

**Post-Note** Now that this chapter is finished, I would like to direct your attention to my other coveted story: Prisoner of War. If you like stories like Sealed Fates, but want one that's more romance inclined, then I ask you please give my other storya try. Please, it's what I've put my heart and soul into. As always, it's a story of love and resillience in the darkest of situations where there's a twist around every corner and nothing as it seems.

_Summary for Prisoner of War: _(AU) For centuries, Mizuho and Iselia lived peacefully together, hidden away from the warring states. However, when Sheena fails to make a pact with Volt, many are killed and the location of their villages is exposed. Meltokio, the current powerhouse of the world, seizes the villages and takes the survivors as slaves. Except for Sheena, who Zelos takes an unusual liking to...


	8. Escape

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A.N**: Listening to music one day,—as I always do whenever I write—I stumbled upon the song 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' by Green Day and listening to it, I thought of an awesome music video going along with SF. Needless to say though, I don't have the materials or resources to put together anything like that, much less the skill. But if I did... oh, what a shame...

-----

He awoke in a fuzzy daze. He couldn't remember much, he felt completely blank in mind. In body and spirit though, he'd never felt better; it was as if all his worn, fatigued muscles had been removed and replaced with brand new similarly strong ones. Not only that, but his senses, too, felt renewed, sharpened even.

What had he come here for again? Come to think of it, who was 'he'? And was 'he' even a—oh good, that's a relief. Also, what was this cloth doing swathed around his reddish-brown... furry... paw?

Panicking, he stood—on all fours—and surveyed his surroundings with a growing apprehension. Not long after standing, he realized he stood on shaky ground and instinctively stumbled backwards until he hit the trunk of the tree.

Now he was scared, he didn't know anything: who was he? Where was he? _What_ was he? _Why_ was he?

'_Calm down_,' He heard a voice say to him. He complied and controlled his breathing; the calming presence vanished and he was alone again. Now he could only rely on himself. 'Think,' he said to himself. 'what is your name?'

He lay down and furrowed his brow. Slowly the sounds came to him, '_Zel... os... Wilder_.'

'_Good, now what are you here to do_?' he thought. Eventually he sat up on shaky limbs and ventured forward. '_My name is Zelos Wilder, I was human, but now I've been turned into some sort of mammal_,' he noted, observing the thick bushy tail flickering behind him. The tail belonged to him. '_Okay, it looks like I'm a fox; I guess that's ironically fitting... Either way, I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be "observing_".'

Gaining confidence in his new form, he stepped out onto the narrowing branch. Obscuring his view to the world beyond the tree was an abhorrent abundance of leaves. He pushed aside a thicket of leaves with his muzzle—inadvertently discovering they smelled slightly sweet, creamy sweet—to reveal the lavish grass and forest land that now surrounded the Mana Tree.

In the distance, departing, he could make out a figure clad in purple, which he quickly recognized as Kratos. The white and green blob following him was obviously Noishe, but another figure, almost like Noishe exactly save it was brown, joined as well. It was completely unfamiliar to Zelos the fox.

His breath hitched as a familiar occurrence arose in his body. It sent violent shivers from his nose all the way down to the tip of his tail. '_Why... who's trying to locate me_?' Though he always kept his locater with him, in accordance to the law, but being the Chosen of Mana and all, it just seemed vital that they embed a separate locater chip in his blood as a child. Despite the situation, it was nice to know he was still the same in blood.

The shivering sensation numbed his limbs, and he was helpless to stop himself as he slipped from his perch.

Now like anyone else, Zelos had taken his fair share of falls and tumbles, from trees as a child, stairs; anywhere gravity could reach. Never before however had he ever experienced any plummet quite as painful as this. Every twig or branch that grazed him felt like it was slicing him open, and every struggling attempt he made to catch anything sent thundering shockwaves spiraling throughout his entire system. In a last alarmed endeavor, he tried to draw out his wings. No such luck.

Finally, he slammed into the earth with a rather small '_thud'_ contrary to the '_thud'_ he felt. He moaned in agony as everything—everything—howled with anguish, causing a scorching sensation to fill every corner of his mind.

Through the pain, he heard Kratos turn on his heel. Zelos didn't care if he was seen, it's not like he would be identified. Noishe and the other dog though...

The both of them tore over to where he lay, barking, barking, barking. Before he knew it, he was on his feet again and halfway up the tree by the time the two mutts had reached the tree.

As much as a fox could, he smirked. '_Hehe, you're barking up the wrong tree, pals_.' He shook his head: surely that had to be the worst joke he'd ever made.

Five branches upward, he caught sight of a hasty jolt. His blood ran cold with realization, 'Oh no! It's been a minute!'

As fast as his dinged up and aching muscles would allow him, he bounded up the branches with unnatural grace and speed. The end of his headband began to slip out of sight, so with a desperate leap, he managed to catch a few threads of the material in his mouth before being pulled back into the Spirit World.

Kratos meanwhile, thought nothing of the appearance and began to leave. "Come on, Noishe." He summoned for the dogs. They paid him no heed, they probably couldn't hear him over their joyous yapping, anyway. He sighed, "Why couldn't you just stay a hawk...?"

-----

With a final great heave on the makeshift rope, it curled with excess and Zelos came diving out of the abyss. Completely disoriented, he landed gracelessly on his front side, still clasping the end of his headband in his mouth.

Sheena and Raine both dropped their end of the line and rushed to his side without a second thought. "Are you alright, Zelos?" Sheena asked fearfully, working off the pained expression he wore.

He spat out the headband and bit back a few choice words. Almost anxiously, he looked to his hand, flexing it a few time to reassure he was back to being human again. "Y-yeah," he said with difficulty, "I'm good."

They both let out a sigh of relief before Raine went into 'Ruin-mode', "Tell us! What happened? Where you at the Mana Tree? What did you see? How high up were you? Were there any transformations you had to go through? Oh, this could be a breakthrough on the wonders and mysteries of life! Do you know how precedent these discoveries are? All of this is almost beyond comprehension... my, even I can't seem to wrap my head around—"

While she chattered away, Sheena looked toward to Zelos with a 'here-we-go-again' half-grin on her face. Somewhere in her smile he thought he saw hints of affection; he could only hope it wasn't an illusion. "As if you don't have enough questions, mind sharing why your end was being gripped by your teeth?" she questioned teasingly.

They let her go on rambling, mostly to herself, about the wonders and the significance of what they had unearthed through this trek for a good while before Zelos blurted, "Don't you have to breathe?"

She quieted, glaring. "So I'm long winded; anyway, what happened?"

He nodded and proceeded to explain, in great detail, all the happenings of his trip through the portal. He told them of the panic he had felt in the beginning, of the strength his new being as a fox had given him, while also the rawness and frailty he had experienced. He described the lushness and prosperous form the tree had taken, how full of energy the air around the Tree had been, even of his encounter with Kratos and Noishe. He then paused purposely to add more implied weight to what he was going to say next.

"The only thing that really bugged me was that there was another dog following Noishe and Kratos. It was smaller than Noishe, obviously, and covered in thick brown fur. It can't be a stray because there was a visible tie between him and this other dog." He informed them, they too seemed puzzled. He went on, "From what little I could gather, even ol' stone-heart seemed comfortable with this dog."

Despite being utterly bewildered, Raine pushed the mystery aside for now. "Once we get out of here, we can inquire Kratos about it ourselves. Right now, we need to focus on sealing this portal."

"Right," Sheena affirmed, "I 'm now very sure that this'll be an easy task. All we need to do is alter a part of our Mana Signatures so that we won't be transformed upon passing through the portal. Just leave the sealing to me."

"'_Alter a part of our Mana signatures'_?" he gawked, "Just how the hell are we supposed to do **that**? That's like switching sexes!"

As she sat down and began to prepare the seal, Sheena sighed, saying, "Zelos, only you would make that connection..."

Raine just chuckled, "It's actually quite simple, in this case; it's all just a matter of will power. When you travel through the abyss, you are changed based on your previous attributes. If you bottle up everything up and become completely numb, so to speak, the Goddess will just leave you as you are. This may also explain how ghosts and poltergeists exist..."

He merely blinked, "Where did you hear all this?"

"When Lloyd briefed me about this whole thing, he quickly added before leaving, 'If you ever need to pass through the abyss, then you have to become completely devoid of emotion. It's the only way you'll pass through safely.'"

He laughed quietly, "And here I'd been thinking he didn't have a smart cell in his body..."

"Okay, it's ready." Sheena said confidently, standing up. "And... so am I. Let's get the heck outta here."

Raine nodded, "I'm assuming you heard how to alter your Mana Signature?"

"Every word of it."

"Good," she continued more finally, "We only have one chance to get out of here. If you mess this up, there's no telling what you'll come out as. Are we clear?"

"Yes; yup." Responded Sheena and Zelos simultaneously. However, before Raine could further instruct them, Sheena wondered aloud, "What do you think that little spirit will... hey, where'd he go?"

"Probably got lost getting here," Raine mumbled before saying final words of warning, then jumping decisively into the portal herself. The two were left startled at her sudden exit; it certainly threw Sheena's plans out the door.

"Um, okay then... it looks like you'll have to go last..." she explained, "I'll have to stay in the portal for a bit longer to assure the seal stays, so make sure you grab me as you pass through."

"I was just about to say 'ladies first', anyway."

She smiled at him before departing, leaving him alone in the silence. Immediately, the portal began swaying, its colors changing more violently than before. That his signal, he cleared his mind and hurtled fearlessly onward.

Just as Raine had said, he remained ever vigilant to not let his mind slip from its state of numbness. Flying through the portal, he felt an odd sensation, nothing similar to transforming though—twice, in fact.

Nearing the exit, it hit him: he had caught two things, and Sheena was only one of them.


	9. Lies and Deceptions

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A/N**: I apologize for the extremely long wait! The original version was completed quite some time ago, but upon typing it up I found a huge amount of plot holes so decided to redo the entire chapter. I think I got 'em all, but if there's something that— :falls into a plot hole: …I feel like Sheena at the Ossa Trail…

-----

_Searching... Searching... (Beep) Signal has been located at coordinates: Zero north, zero east._

"Zero, zero," Genis repeated, "Isn't that where the Tower of Salvation is?"

"Well, that would certainly make sense," Colette chirped, smiling optimistically.

Regal pressed a few buttons which brought up a grip map of their world that pinpointed their location at twenty-one north, eighty west. He frowned, "No, this is different now that the worlds are together. Previously, Meltokio was the zero-zero of Tethe'alla. I'm surprised they've managed to accurately update their system cartography so quickly..."

"So where's zero-zero now?" Genis blurted impatiently, their lack of seriousness was beginning to drive him over the edge.

"If we are here," said Presea, pointing to the stationary black dot on the screen and following the dashed line with her finger until she reached the blinking dot. "Then this should be... the Mana Tree."

"Why would they be there! That's on the opposite side of the world from where they sho—"

"—Because they are being held there against their will. They did not intentionally travel to the other side of the planet and come to us in the form of an apparition for naught." Presea cut in sharply, "I understand you're worried for you sister and everyone else, Genis, but becoming agitated with your friends will bring nothing but unnecessary dilemma."

Colette nodded solemnly, placing her hand placidly on her half-elven friend's shoulder. "She's right. Even though I don't like the idea that we're fighting against our friend, but if what's we're doing is for the best, then we must keep fighting—together."

He looked over to Presea sheepishly. "I'm sorry,"

She acknowledged his apology with a small nod before saying, "Let's get going,"

-----

"Amazing... truly magnificent! So this is how the..." her previously stable 'floor' developed a steep incline with a foreboding _snap_. "Mana... Tree..." Raine looked beneath her to see the branch holding her about to snap. She squeaked in shock before hurriedly latching her hands onto the nearest branch above her, narrowly avoiding plummeting to the ground.

She sighed in relief, looking downward. Apparently the ground wasn't as far as she'd first thought, and so she hesitantly dropped down onto the earthy floor. Only a few precious moments of solitude passed before another limb overhead snapped, following it was Sheena descending the tree branch by branch with great poise and agility. After landing just next to Raine, she smiled reassuringly.

Not so agile, was Zelos, but only at the start. He could be heard rattling around in the bushy heights of the tree; tumbling like a marble down a staircase. As soon as he neared the ground however, all traces of his past clumsiness vanished, grabbing hold of the closest limb and swinging himself down in a fashion similar to Sheena's.

She, in turn, blinked in surprise at his dismount, "Impressive," she commented off-handedly, "Was that the Saru-style by any chance?"

"Could've been," he replied a bit coldly, brushing the twigs from his attire.

She just frowned and looked over to Raine, then at herself. "Well, it looks like we all turned out okay, and we succeeded in close up the seal for the while."

Raine nodded in agreement, "Yes. We should contact Lloyd and tell him, and ask him if there's anything else to be done." The two then looked to Zelos. When he failed to respond, Raine repeated, "I said, we should contact Lloyd, Zelos. You're the only one who can do that."

He just gazed out into the distance absently, "So?"

Sheena tightened her hands into compact fists at her side, "_So_? So, contact him!"

He still continued to stare beyond with a glazed look. "Why?" he finally said, "It's not of my concern what happens to you, though… Mm, maybe…" He trailed off.

Despite her slight height disadvantage compared to Zelos, Sheena angrily grabbed the collar of his shirt. "Are you turning on us? Are you going to try and betray us again? What is with you, you—"

"Sheena! Zelos! Raine!"

They turned to see a pair of Rheairds dock awkwardly on the ground as Colette and Genis practically bounced off theirs and dashed over to the three. Regal and Presea quickly trailed them, much more solemn and grave than the first.

Sheena gave Zelos a threatening glare out of the corner of her eye before gruffly releasing him and waving curtly. "What're you doing here?"

"That is what we would like to know," Regal said suspiciously, "Weren't you supposed to be at the Tower of Salvation?"

"Yes," Presea blinked, "And Zelos, what about you? What were you trying to tell us?"

He seemed preoccupied. "…When?"

Before Presea could answer, Colette pointed out by placing a hand on Sheena and Raine's shoulders. "But they're alive, at least! If they were a hologram or a spirit, then my hand would go right through them!"

Presea and Regal alike couldn't deny that evidence while Genis decided to test it further by nearly tackling his sister in a hug. "Raine! I'm so glad you're safe! What happened to you?"

His sister smiled, returning his hug, then glanced hesitantly over to Sheena wondering what to say. Sheena gave her a look suggesting the same line that ran through her head, "Uuh, long story."

"Then why don't we head back?" Regal suggested. Secretly, he was still very skeptical to believe the integrity this situation, but if they had something to say, then he'd certainly listen. Presea, on the other hand, just seemed relieved to find their friends safe and sound.

-----

"So what happened?" Colette blurted as soon as they entered Zelos' mansion. "Tell us everything!"

"Well, there is a, uh, lot to tell, so why don't we go sit down?" Raine proposed, heading the opposite way saying, "I'm awfully thirsty, I'll get you all a drink. Sheena, come help me,"

"Okay," Sheena replied, a bit puzzled with her odd request and tentative behavior. She followed Raine into the kitchen before asking in a low voice, "What's going on?"

"What am I supposed to say?" she hissed, making sure no one was around to hear them. "Obviously we can't tell them the truth…"

"Just make up something!"

"But what if it doesn't fit? How am I supposed to explain how we got from the Tower of Salvation to the Mana Tree?"

Sheena paused to think, starting slowly. "Well, Kratos said he was going to investigate at the Mana Tree after doing some inquiry work else where… Just say we found something out of place at the Tower and decided to find Kratos and tell him."

Raine shook her head, thinking everything through logically. "But we don't have any Rheairds! It'd be impossible to make it halfway across the world by foot in under a day, much less two hours…"

She cringed; Raine was right. "Then we… uh," they were both a bit panicked, she had to think of something. "We… summoned Aska to take us there… and Zelos flew."

Though she didn't seem at all taken, she took a deep breath to calm herself. "…Alright, it'll have to do. Now, help me get seven glasses of water. I'll take four, you take three…"

The two returned to the living room and dispatched a glass to each person. Raine gave hers to Presea, Genis and Regal and sat down with her own, mentally bracing herself for any question they could throw her way.

Just as Sheena handed Zelos a glass, he grabbed her wrist and whispered in her ear, "Can I talk to you on the balcony for a minute?"

"Sure…" she replied with a puzzled look. He was being completely solemn, a bit regretful even. "Um, excuse us for a second…" she quickly added as they left the room for the stairs.

They reached the balcony in silence, something uncommon around Zelos normally. Naturally she noticed something was up with the former Chosen, but decided to let things unravel themselves.

He took a small sip from his glass, looking out over the city despondently. A while passed before he finally choked out, "Sheena… what happened?"

She looked to him with great curiosity. "What happened when?"

"Did he try to kill you too, or justa… just the people of Mizuho?"

"_Who_?"

He held down his impatience, seething, "Volt,"

She frowned; something was definitely going on. It wasn't like Zelos to brood on events in the past—and of all times now? "Why? What does it matter?"

"'_What does it matter_?'" He nearly exclaimed, his brown eyes flaring with anger. "You really are a shameless wench!"

Immediately, Zelos' eyes flashed back to their normal blue. "Go find Lloyd!" his voice sounded like an echo, filled with panic and fear. "He's near the Fooji Mountains! Tell him—"

His eyes flashed back to brown and he withdrew a knife from his pocket. "—**_You're going to pay for your shamelessness, summoner_**!"


	10. A Bird in the Hand

**Sealed Fates**

**-----**

**A/N**: Aah, chapter ten... wait—_Aah_? What's so _Aah_ about this? If everything works out right, then this is like the first chapter of the rising climax where everything starts going completely haywire! There's no _Aah_ in that! If anything, it should be 'Aah! TEH CHAPTER 10!' ...I think... Darn it, I never shoulda lost those blue prints...

...Okay then, story time... Oo;

-----

The trio walked through the fields in silence. Noishe behind Kratos and the brown dog behind them all. Hold up, this wasn't right, the brown dog figured, trotting ahead of the protozoan to the side of the mercenary. There, much better.

Kratos seemed only the slightest bit perturbed with the dog's movement. He was no animal, but still what shards of primitive instinct his race had retained seemed enraged at the thought that this dog considered itself equal with him. Needless to say, he did not succumb to such primal impulses.

Besides, on the other hand (the one with a working intellect), having the dog at his side felt familiar, in the pleasant way. Noishe had not objected to this either, so all was well.

...Why on earth was he thinking about this? He had much more important matters to think about...

Kratos gazed up at the path ahead. The sun was beginning it's descent in the western sky, and before long dusk would arrive. As anxious as he was to get to the bottom of these bizarre happenings, he decided heading back to Meltokio would be the best choice for now.

Of course, the best choice was never the easiest to go through with: a lesson he soon found to be true as he was confronted with a monstrosity he could only describe as a gigantic platypus with the wings of a dragon. In any other instance, he would've attempted to pass by the beast without any trouble. But when he noticed the 'skin' covering the creature was of the same substance that burned into Lloyd's skin, Kratos knew he had to defeat it.

Needless to say, at the first whiff of the peculiar animal Noishe had bolted out of sight. Strangely, the brown dog did not move.

Kratos thought nothing of it as he silently withdrew his sword and cautiously approached the monster—which was blissfully unaware of his presence as it tromped about the land. It nibbled experimentally on the leaves of a bush before vehemently spitting it out and covering the bush in a liquid crimson akin to its hide. The creature—though grossly oversized—was still very young, that much was obvious.

He had managed to come within striking distance, and still he was not sensed. He lowered his sword only slightly, surprised at the lack of awareness displayed by the platypus-like being, but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and take the moment to study the creature as best he could.

As he had previously noted, the thing did seem to have the same substance covering its entire body that Lloyd had etched on his; also that it was young and inexperienced. With his better position, he could now tell that its skin—or rather, something under its skin—was crawling and squirming throughout its entire being, begging the question, _is it the same with Lloyd_?

Suddenly, the creature became aware of the seraph's presence and lashed out at him, yowling its blemished battle cry. But of course, Kratos remained unfazed as he leapt backward and then forward to strike. As his sword tore through the flesh of the beast, however, it began dissolve as the substance slowly ate away at the cool metal of his blade while the creature remained seemingly unharmed.

He bit back a curse as he narrowly dodged a furious swipe of the creature's massive claws, tossing his now useless stub of a sword aside. While he carried a dagger with him, he was no fool. As he recalled, 'insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results'.

Thinking fast, he withdrew his wings, taking to the air as he prepared an Eruption spell just beneath his foe. It looked up at him and flapped its disproportionate wings in hopes of reaching its attacker in time to disrupt the hex.

It would have, had Kratos not equipped a 'Speed Cast' gem to his exsphere. "Eruption!"

The earth below the monster cracked and fizzled loudly, molten rock bubbling out from the splits in the planet before the lava could be enclosed within the earth no more. With a thunderous clap, lava shot forth at the creature as the ground sundered and parted, further strengthening the current.

It was to no avail. Though covered in the otherwise scalding liquid, it shook itself free of the magma and reared itself to attack yet again.

Admittedly, Kratos couldn't believe what the creature withstood with such ease, and was ill-prepared to defend himself as it swung its claw through the air, hitting him straight on and slamming him into the soil.

As his years of training had taught him, he rose to his feet swiftly—too swiftly. The blow, while obviously detrimental to his physical being, seemed to drain him of his spirit as well; he couldn't focus, his head pounding and his legs unstable beneath him, he fell back down with only enough sense to raise his shield above his face.

He couldn't see. He couldn't think. Even the softest of sounds sent his mind into a chasm of unending agony while every blade of grass underneath him sliced mercilessly at his skin. It reminded him of his first days as an angel adjusting to his new breadth of abilities. Such only worsened his pain.

As if to voice Kratos' anguish, the platypus-akin shrieked with misery repeatedly, each cry growing more ghastly and ethereal until finally, all was silent.

Once he regained his bearings, he instinctively looked about for the creature, or the remains thereof. He frowned. Everything was as it was with not a single thing out of place. It was as if the monster had simply disappeared without a trace, and that only happens when a defeat occurs.

But who could've dealt defeat to such a beast? Though most skillful without a doubt, it couldn't have been himself, for he had been temporarily—but completely—incapacitated at the time. It couldn't have been Noishe, he'd not been brave enough for action ever since their run-in with Kvar sixteen or so years ago.

Then who—or what?

Still Kratos looked about the area for an answer. He was not ungrateful for the aid—whether meant to be helpful or not—but he needed to know what exactly had defeated the creature, and how he could harness it for their own use.

All the while, Noishe and the other dog watched in speculation as his investigation came up fruitless time and time again. It was almost as if they found this… entertaining.

At long last, he gave up on his search and muttered a bothered, "Let's go," to the dogs awaiting his command.

It is not unusual for men to have their pride hide them from the truth, and took pride in the fact that they could find an answer to a question first, no one knew that better than the brown dog. But now, the brown dog could keep it a secret no longer.

"…_Haven't you figured it out yet, _Mr. Kratos Aurion_? 'Only those of like mana can lay waste to one another.' Weird, huh? Buut I guess you learn a few things by being dead for a couple'a years_."


	11. Is Worth Two in the Bush

**Sealed Fates**

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**A/N**: I have recovered the blue prints, and I lied in the last chapter. There will be at least one more calm chapter before this story draws to a close. According to the sketchy blue-print I revamped over a box of pizza (yum), there should be anywhere from nineteen to twenty-one chapters depending on how long I can stretch a few things out, as well as one mid-story oneshot (which I already have finished X3) and a sequel oneshot.

One chapter at a time though... Enjoy!

**Post-Note**: Not the best chapter I've written, bordering OoC... uck.

-----

Kratos swerved, his hand glued to the hilt of his sword, looking for the source of the voice.

"Oh_, calm down. No need to get all prepared for battle, sheesh_."

That voice... sounded so painstakingly familiar, but if it was who he thought it was, then where was she hiding? And why would she hide in the first place?

"_For the love of—down here_!" she said, jumping as high as she could. "_The_ _least you can do is look at me when I'm talking to you_!"

In front of him, the brown dog bounced up and down as if its legs were made of springs. He frowned; surely this was just coincidental... "Ah... Anna?" he said slowly, trying his best not to sound off guard if it was in fact Anna, while at the same time, trying not to look like a fool questioning a dog.

"_Yes, I am a dog, I'm aware of that_." She spoke hastily, but by no means in a panicked manner. "_But we don't have much time to talk, and there's a lot you need to know_."

Not giving him a chance to respond, she immediately cut to the chase; forthright, just as he had known her to be. "_Being trapped in that Cruxis Crystal for the past—oh, sixteen years was it?—I was able to communicate with Lloyd in extremely subtle, and often tedious, ways. In turn, I could also see what was going on inside his mind_,"

Kratos instantly realized what she was getting at. "You know what's going on, then?"

Her dog form cringed, as much as it could. "_Well... bits and pieces, yes. I was thinking if I could tell you what I know, you could fill in all the blank spots_."

"To be honest," he started, "I know almost nothing of this other than assumptions, so we'll have to make due with what little you might know."

Anna sighed, "_I feared you'd say that_..." she rose to her feet and began pacing about the ground in thought. "_I'll start with the basics: what you are fighting against are creatures of a foreign mana. I don't know the reasons why they've decided to come to our planet, but obviously they're not here to co-exist peacefully_.

"_Now normally, creatures of a different power source could not survive off of our mana that is unfamiliar and probably incompatible with them, however, the mana they are used to is very similar to ours... but much stronger. So much stronger that our mana has no effect on it whatsoever... Needless to say, if they were to alter the Mana Tree to their liking, humans, elves, half-elves, every living thing we know of would die_."

He nodded his head in understanding, contrarily adding, "Not necessarily. While the Summon Spirits exist off the Mana Tree as well, they are also a source of mana themselves. If they simply altered the tree, then it would have no immediate effect on the land until they finally starved from mana deprivation and disappeared, only then would the land itself be changed."

Her tail drooped as she shook her head grimly. "_Well then that would explain the next bit I heard. Apparently, the leader of this 'invasion' commanded that the first eleven souls to submit to the new mana were to attack one Summon Spirit each and become the new one in their place. Now putting in what you said, that makes much more sense._"

He took this into consideration. All of this seemed completely absurd, yet it made sense in some odd, fantasy way. If it baffled him, then how on earth could Lloyd—of all people—have come up with this on his own? Could he have thought of all the consequences and extenuating circumstances without anyone else? As much as he'd like to think his son was smart, he found that impossible to believe.

"_Though I'm none too proud to admit it, our son isn't overly bright... There's no way he could've envisioned all this on his own..._" Anna mused.

"I was just thinking the same thing."

She closed her eyes in thought, trying to recall any images or names she could from the regeneration journey. "..._Who? Who would Lloyd trust the most with something of this magnitude? What about that blon—no, too blonde to be trusted with something like that_..."

One answer that had come to his mind—though more of a question, really—Kratos had to admit, was somewhat painful to consider. He knew he wasn't Lloyd's favorite person exactly, but he knew he trusted him at the very least. So why did Lloyd hide the truth from his father—his friends?

Was there anyone Lloyd put his faith in, or was he one against the world?

Kratos sighed. "A lot can happen in a year..."

She ceased her pacing and lied down, putting her paws over her muzzle in frustration. "_I think we're creating more questions than answers_..."

He was about to agree with her when something jogged his memory. "Wait," he said; she removed one paw from her muzzle so she could look up at him. "The creature we fought earlier... it was probably one of them. The closest Summon Spirit to here would be Gnome,"

" _We have saved the dirt and trees. The hippies sing their praise, I'm sure_." She paused in thought, "..._If that's so, then that means there are at least ten creatures left, nine in a minute, anyway_..."

"What do you mean?" he inquired, his frown lifting as realization dawned on him. "Are you...?"

Anna sighed, "_Yup. Part of the deal that I could be guaranteed a quick form was if I took out Verius, the Summon Spirit of Heart. Of course, I won't carry through with that, and if I'm caught not doing what I'm supposed to be doing..._" she trailed off. "..._Well, it'll all be the same in the end, so it doesn't matter_,"

"_It doesn't matter_?" Kratos repeated with a heated edge, "Anna, why would you strike such a deal when you know what was transpiring? You have good intentions, but removing yourself from the exsphere has put not only Lloyd at risk, but you as well."

"_That's... not Lloyd_," She whispered softly, so much so even the seraph failed to notice. Anna shook her head angrily and rose to her feet, her claws flexing into the dirt beneath her; she bared her teeth slightly. "_I know what I did was precarious, but I did what I did because you need to know! If you don't put up any calculated resistance against him, then who will! None of his friends have half the mind—much less the will—to do anything like that! ...I take that back, one of them could but I wouldn't trust them if I were you_."

The two stood in silence. Kratos had a hard time digesting the words she had said in her anger, not that they were harsh, but he found himself surprised at what she had unknowingly revealed. Did she honestly tell him all she knew, or was she still withholding further secrets from him?

Slowly, Anna reverted into a position more fit for a dog, she sat on the ground with a hind leg poised at her neck and scratched furiously until she drew blood... such did not impede her.

She paused her scratching, "_Kratos_," she said wearily. "_If you wish to slay the others... bathe your sword in my blood. It's the only way you'll even leave a mark on them_."

He fingered the hilt of his sword, "Anna—"

"_Don't give me that sentimental crap, Kratos. I've made up my mind_," she spat venomously. "_Besides... I'm tired of being a parasite and I'll die anyway if I keep existing like this, anyway_."

Wordlessly, he did as she said. Needless to say, he was not completely convinced that what they were doing was the best option, but he could see no other choice.

"_Good_..." she said, weakly backing away. "_Now... I need you to slay me. And I don't want to hear anything from you, got it? This is the way it has to be_."

"This is ridiculous," he growled, "Stop thinking that sacrificing yourself will make things better."

She sighed, "_Like father, like son. Now do it, before I change my mind_!"

Hesitantly, Kratos raised his sword to his eye level, letting the sun play off the cool metal on its unsoiled side, while the other failed to glisten. What was going on in this world? A battle fought by two forces which ultimately rooted from the same side—for one power to win spelled demise for the other. He closed his eyes.

He swung.


	12. Rendezvous

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A/N:** Heehee, yatta! Though it's not anything near the 'music video' I mentioned in chapter nine, I finally got off me lazy bum and did some sort of media work (having to do with Sealed Fates). What I call a videommercial, to be exact. Of course, it's uber crappy and such, but still worth a glance. So, if you could spare a moment to give it a look over, I'll get the link posted in mah bio.

Now then, to finish TBW...

-----

Zelos lunged without hesitation at her, knife withdrawn and poised to kill. Admittedly, Sheena was caught somewhat off guard and barely avoided the attack, stumbling backwards into the side railing. "What the hell are you doing!" she yelled, intentionally louder than normal. "Get a grip, Zelos!"

"Zelos? _Chigai iru_," he laughed darkly, "Guess again." He stated brusquely before swiftly launching another—far more controlled—attack. She quickly ducked beneath his strike and slid past him with ease, but it certainly didn't sound it. She purposely made her steps heavy and loud on the wooden balcony in hopes of alerting those inside.

He chuckled enigmatically. "Quick as _lightning_, I see."

"What do you want?" she hissed, glowering.

He shrugged nonchalantly, his eyes glimmering with guile matching his leer of all teeth. "I think I speak for all of us when I say this, but..." he lowered his eyes dangerously. "I don't think you gave it your all when you went to make the pact. That in itself is just plain selfish, wouldn't you agree?"

Sheena did not respond as he shifted his stance and took one pace to his right; she took one to the left. Again, he stepped to the right and she to the left; this continued. "And not only that," he added, "but after which, you returned with everything in tact: your guardians, your skills, your physical being... It was as if your life was not torn asunder by this: as if this didn't affect you. Not in the slightest. You even learned how to forge emotions!"

He stopped when he stood in front of the door. With a devious smirk, he flipped the lock on the door. "Then came Corrine. You didn't have a single difficulty forming a pact with that little fox, it seemed. You gained a lifelong friend; there was nothing to lose. Then Undine, Efreet, Sylph, Gnome, Celsius, Luna and Aska, Shadow, Origin, Maxwell, Verius... who am I forgetting?"

_Volt._

With that, he performed a quick hand motion and suddenly, his form seemed to multiply. Two, four, six, seven... all of them running at her. Her only option was to jump from the third story balcony and hope something soft awaited her below.

She knew this trick: all but one were an illusion and took no material form. Which was the real one? They soundlessly descended from the balcony and leapt at her. Naturally, it was hard not to turn and run; she had to be patient and wait for the one that did not descend silently—which, of course, was made even harder by the fact that he, too, was a ninja.

As this was going on, the illusions rushed through her like gusts of wind, then turning sharply to try again. Such created almost a vortex of wind that surrounded her; at this point, calling the spurts of air _blades of wind_ would be just a little short of the truth of the situation.

Then, leaping through the current, the real 'Zelos' appeared with his sword drawn and pointed directly at her. He had abandoned the knife, it seemed: an unintelligent move on his part. With great speed, she pulled her cards from their holding place beneath her sash and held them just before his face. The gales coiling around them seemed to ominously slow to a halt as Sheena yelled out, "_Cyclone Seal_!"

The air violently recaptured its deadly spiral in the opposite direction as he was seemingly imprisoned in-flight by a salvo of cards born viathe mana behind her onslaught. A ferocious clap of wind and he was sent soaring backward into the doorway of the mansion, which collapsed unto the house from the sheer force of the attack.

Inside, Raine was had begun to go over the first part of their adventurous lie as the door was ripped from its hinges, Zelos sprawled out on its backside. Instinctively, they jumped from their chairs, some in fright, others prepared for action.

"Zelos, are you alright?" Regal, the one closest to the door, inquired with great concern.

Raine—delighted not to have to continue to fabricating falsehoods—ran over to his side, grabbing her staff from the wall it leaned against. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

He belligerently shoved the professor aside, growling, "Out of the way, _ningen_!" then storming out of the house in pursuit of the ninja.

Shocked by the Chosen's aggressive behavior, they stood in silence, trying to comprehend what just happened. Before long, Genis spoke up in a small, almost frightened, voice. "Raine... what's wrong with him?"

She did not answer immediately, for the same question had wrapped itself around her mind as well. She frowned; her eyes frittered back and forth as if she was analyzing invisible evidence before her. Realization finally dawned on her like an icy deluge.

"He's been... possessed..." Rained whispered.

"What?" Many of them repeated, as her whisper had been practically inaudible.

Raine ignored their questions and stood up hastily, tossing them their various weapons. "Someone, go set up the Rheairds!" she instructed hurriedly, "We need to follow him! Quickly, let's go!"

"But what about Sheena?" Colette pointed out, after failing to accurately catch her weapons. "Wasn't she with Zelos?"

"Yes, she's most likely the object of his chase."

Genis laughed to himself as he quickly made his way over to the Rheairds. "Heh, ain't that the truth,"

-----

"Lloyd? Lloyd!"

I turn around to see Sheena running towards me in an almost frantic manner—something quite unusual for her. In her panic, she fails to see an uprooted root standing in her path, sending her tripping and stumbling until I step forward and catch her. Most people, excluding Colette, only trip when they're being pursued.

"Who are you being followed by?" I ask quietly, observing everything around me with extra caution. I can feel her pulse pound and rattle her entire being; she looks up at me.

"Zelos," she answers breathlessly. I frown, but before I can say anything, she adds, "He's been possessed."

"...So you need to perform an exorcism?"

She nods and whispers, "Yes," then becomes eerily silent. I am about to suggest that she tell me more about the situation but she suddenly steps back and blurts, "Why have you become so stoic?"

I'd like to tell her the reasons—that I don't mean to be as cold as I am, that if I could, I'd end this all now and go back to the way things used to be in a heartbeat. That's how it always is though, so that should be a given. _Should_, but someone has to believe in this path, even now that a 'happy ending' is only an illusion.

I look past her, "I... need you to do me a favor before I can assist in the exorcism."

She gapes at me, utterly dismayed. A bit more hurriedly than intended, I add, "...If you don't do this, everything'll be ruined,"

She looks anything but convinced what I'm asking of her is for the better, but says anyway, "What do you want me to do?"

"I need you to remove my wings,"

"_Your wings_!" she exclaims in distress, "But if you remove those, you'll have no hope if—"

"I know," I interrupt sharply, painfully. "I met Kratos at the Mana Tree. He still doesn't know, so he fought me and I refused to strike back."

Sheena's gape turns into a glower. "Why? Why didn't you stop him? What were you thinking!"

"He has his beliefs and I have mine, so—"

"But he doesn't know!" she cries out in a whisper, "He doesn't know what you're doing is beneficial! Why don't you tell him; why don't you tell everyone else!"

"You know damn well why, Sheena. You of all people should." I reply brusquer than I mean to. "So will you help me or not?"

She shakes her head and sighs. "Fine." She acquiesces, "What do I have to do?"

"Just pull," I say, removing my shirt. "deep down, near my skin—just don't touch it."

She doesn't respond; I can feel her gaze follow every twist and coil of the crimson paths that now line the entirety of my body. She stops when another trail catches her eye. It, too, is crimson... Was, rather—now it's dried and blackened.

"What..." she starts before I cut her off, adding a bit of urgency to my tone. "It's nothing, now hurry! We don't have much time before he catches up, you know."

Hesitantly, she takes a firm grip on the exposed bone nearest to the deracinated skin. She shudders; apparently she doesn't find the feel of raw bone very appealing. "Just... pull?" she repeats.

"Just pull,"

She nods, drawing my wings closer to her with a great display of strength. A few seconds pass, and I hear her squelch a yelp of surprise as the two bones grinding against each other snap loudly. I can't help but wince in pain. I thought for sure that by now any nerves connecting the wings to my back would have died off; I'm pained to admit I was wrong. Literally.

After a while more, she hears—I feel—a second crack as the wings come off completely. Without a second thought, she throws them to the ground in disgust and shakes her hands free of the vile substances beginning to secrete from the midnight black feathers.

Much to my extreme agony, I pull on my shirt before she has a chance to see the internal wounds caused because of the removal. It would only add unnecessary worry.

Distantly, Sheena hears the sound of footsteps nearing us. She withdraws her cards. "Here he comes,"

-----

Kratos and Noishe ambled onward in silence on the path to Meltokio. The protozoan's head and tail hung low to the ground; he was miserable. The seraph held his sword up to the light of the vanishing sun, observing the blood staining his sword with remorseful eyes. _This is the price it costs to keep this world safe_, he mused, _but is it wholly worth all the forgo and otherwise meaningless atrocities_?

Something caught his eye in the outlying sky: the Rheairds. He frowned slightly; what reason would they have to travel at this time?

"C'mon, Noishe," he said, reversing their course in order to follow the airborne Rheairds, and wherever they might lead him.


	13. The Beginning of the End

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A/N**: I'm on a roll with this fic, so I've decided I'm pushing back the "post day" of The Brothers Wilder until this is within a few (three at most) chapters of completion. Not that that really matters, if anyone was holding their breath on that, I'm sure they'd be dead many times over by now. ...I wonder how many people actually go through and read the ANs? Huh...

-----

"Stand down," I say firmly, "You assisted me, now it's my turn."

She turns her head to look back at me, looking a bit uncertain... why? "Alright," she acquiesces, lowering her cards.

I take a step forward, but suddenly waver and stumble, regaining balance only when Sheena jumps in and puts a stable hand on my shoulder. I squeeze my eyes closed, both my hands gripping my head. I can't hear anything except a screeching roar; growing louder and louder, it grips me with agonizing tremors; everything is screaming in anguish. I, too, feel like screaming. Even in the blackness, I can feel myself spinning... I've got to regain control before—

I crack one eye open with difficulty; the spinning resumes so I pick out a blade of grass and focus on it; eventually my sight returns to normal. Slowly—carefully—I stand up straight, brushing her hand off my shoulder.

"What happened?" she asks, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I reply monotonously. "The removal of those wings caused a slight vertigo episode, it's nothing."

_It's not nothing_.

We wait in silence for Zelos to appear. At first, she seems hesitant, but asks in a tone that suggests otherwise, "Aren't you afraid?"

That was almost of the blue. What a stupid and distracting inquiry to make now—of all times. "No." I answer.

"But... what if everything doesn't go as planned?"

"Then it doesn't,"

The aloof manner in which my responses are presented slightly disheartens her—just another reason why I didn't want very much contact with anyone during this time. _Losing your humanity,_ does that mean nothing—did they not realize this is what they should've expected? My people and communication skills are, though it should go without saying, horribly detached. I can no longer relate to almost everything they say, but they still insist on talking to me like I'm still who I once was and expect a likewise answer in return. Too many emotions to sort through... can't they just address me as if speaking to an outsider?

"You..." she starts softly, "I... I feel like... like I don't even know you anymore..."

"You don't,"

"I... don't know you anymore."

Silence.

She shakes her head, tired of beating around the bush. She questions bluntly, "Why are you doing this, Lloyd? What are you fighting for?"

I've asked myself this many times before this whole ordeal began, so my response comes out just as I've repeated it to myself so many times before. "...I fight for this planet and for all who inhabit it. I fight for good... for evil... and for all those caught in the crossfire."

"...But do you fight for yourself, as well?"

I close my eyes, a vision reappearing in my mind... _A twisted and chaotic road lies in wait, rocky and unpaved as it teeters between one world and the next. Those of whom I cherish await me at the road's end, blades splattered with my blood and drawn—thirsting for more. And yet I see myself protecting them. They, the same people who chase for my death, are ultimately the ones I need to protect the most._

I open my eyes. "I... don't know." A blurred red streak flashes in the distance; Sheena sees it as well.

"There he is!" she shouts.

"Got him." I say calmly, extending one hand forward and focusing my energy on his form. Abruptly, a blast of mana shoots from my hand and ensnares Zelos, grasping him unmercifully. He cries out in torture—not Zelos, that is, the spirit whom possesses him. I lower my eyes, looking directly into those of the poltergeist and declare in a strong and dangerous voice, "**_Get out_**. _You are not welcome in the world of the living. Return_—"

But before I can finish my incantation, an approaching half elf finishes theirs. "_Thunder Blade_!"

I'm forced to release my hold on the Chosen and jump backward onto a sturdy tree limb barren of leaves. Zelos fails from the air and onto the Rheaird driven my Regal which shortly thereafter lands on the ground before me, Raine and Genis, and Colette and Presea follow suite.

"What's going on here?" Regal demands, looking first to me, then at Sheena; all the while keeping a watch on me from the corner of his eye.

"I… he…" Sheena stumbles for words, before yelling out, "Behind you!"

He turned and delivered a powerful kick on instinct, narrowly missing Zelos who stood shakily behind him. Zelos growled furiously. "Out of the way, _ningen_. This is a battle between myself and Fuijbayashi-san. I'll kill any and all of you if you dare to interfere!"

Within an instant, he had breezed past Regal and was again charging at Sheena, and again, I capture him with a shot of energy and begin, "**_Get out_**. _You are not_—" I stop as I feel the wind around me suddenly spike. Abandoning my grip, I jump from the branch and onto the ground below while just above me, a rapid Air Thrust spell tears ravenously into the bark of the tree.

Off impulse, I shout, "Stop casting spells so I can finished the damned incantation!"

Genis points his kendana at me. "Why? So we can let you control him completely?"

"I'm not controlling him!"

Colette shakes her head sadly, determination shining brightly in her eyes. "Lloyd, calm down!" she says in her usual tone. "Can't we resolve this without fighting?"

Genis ignores her words. "Then if you're not controlling him, what's wrong with him?"

"He's been possessed," I answer, trying to remain calm. "But I could exorcise the spirit if you'd quit interrupting me!"

Presea steps in. "While it pains me to say this, Lloyd, why can we trust you after all you've done?"

Everyone is silent as they wait for my response; I keep quiet, narrowing my eyes and considering my options. It seems they're all too focused on my answer to notice as Zelos stealthily creeps up behind Sheena—even she doesn't realize this.

Hurriedly, I rush forward and pull Sheena behind be and put my sword in front to block his strike. With my other hand, I grab his neck and declare—for a final time, "**_Get out_**! _You are not welcome in the world of the living. Return to the land to which your spirit is bound: **Return to the Spirit World**!"_

The apparition cries out in refusal, seeping out of Zelos's body, it takes form as an ancient character before disappearing into the evening air. I drop his limp body to the ground—he's comatose.

_Raise your sword against those you treasure..._

Awestruck, Colette manages a smile. "Oh, Lloyd! You saved Sheena! I knew you were still you, no matter what!"

_...and fight for their sake._

"Don't be stupid," I spit venomously, "I did that for myself, you fool. If you're that easily taken in by simple acts of pulling strings, you'll be dead in no time!"

_Stop making careless mistakes, or they'll be on to **you** in no time!_

I stretch my hand out, emitting a toxic smoke. Before Raine can pointlessly tell them not to breathe it in, they each drop like flies, and eventually lie motionless on the ground.

I scan over their bodies, peering into each of their minds as I go. I stop when I reach that of Sheena's, which lays at my feet. In lieu of reading her thoughts, however, it's as if I hear my own:

_Don't forget to fight for me, too…_

A strong arm suddenly wraps around my neck, while the other grabs both of my hands and holds them roughly behind my back. "What'd you do to them?" a familiar voice hisses.

"Let… go… of me!" I growl, trying not to gasp for air. He only constricts my windpipe even more. "Not until you tell me what the hell you're doing!"

I try to respond, but all I can manage are raspy, ragged breathes. I can feel him shake his head. "What's going on, Lloyd?" Kratos asks brusquely. "You speak as if you are above them, but you are still subject to breathing, it seems."

"St…Stop!" I sputter, but it winds up sounding like a plea, at best. At the moment, I don't care—too light headed… dizzy…

Unexpectedly, he releases his grip on me; I stumble forward, coughing and gasping for breath pathetically. Shortly after, I feel the cool metal tip of his sword poking at my back as he stands over me. "What is going on? I will not tolerate anymore of this!" he states firmly.

The screeching roar returns—can't think, can't focus… something else is controlling me… Shapes and colors blur together and time itself spins wildly.

I regain control of my actions as I find that our positions have reversed, the tip of my sword just inches from his neck. Unevenly, I sheath it and use the haze to knock him unconscious, as well.

"Sleep well… for when you wake, it will be the end."


	14. Speckles of the Truth

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A/N**: Yeaah... kinda mad at this chapter... had to re-write the whole darned thing 'cause it doesn't like making sense... :grumble grumble:: But now it does and everything is planned out:D

Welp, I think this is where I say "Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa and so on. Happy Holidays!" Don't expect any updates until 2007... unless it's something like Sheelos Fluff... or Like Father, Like Son. 2007 will be... hectic.

-----

A flock of ravens gathered in an irregular meeting spot located in the middle of a forest. They perched themselves on the branches supplied by the thick vegetation and silently observed their prey with eagerness in their eyes and a hunger in their bellies—yet they moved not an inch. They were not ones to kill their own food, but rather scavengers—puppeteers of those around them.

The breeze spun into a cold rush of wind as the ravens continued their soundless surveillance. A few unfurled their feathery cloaks as the draft chilled their frames; individually, each shook itself as to re-furl and tighten their veils of down, some shedding a single black feather as they did so. All watched with vigilant beady eyes as the feathers gently wafted down from the trees; eight feathers placed by fate upon the eight souls, sound asleep and so blissfully unaware as time only tightened their strings to the finger and whim of the puppeteer.

One such feather landed softly below the nose of Tethe'alla's former Chosen, and as he inhaled he felt the greasy, smooth hairs dance over his skin—but not in the way any quiescent person would like.

His sub-conscious awoke; he sniffed, then, "_Ah-chit_!"

_Kaw! Ka-kaaw... kaaw... kaaw... _cried the ravens as they flew away in a chaotic shadow below the morning sky. Zelos looked up just to catch the last of the stragglers hurried on their way. He had only time to blink at the strange phenomenon before he heard the Chosen opposite him mumbled (in her sleep), "...G'Bless you..."

Colette garbled something else before sighing and snuggling into the nook of her shoulder and arm as she lay awkwardly on her side.

Zelos frowned slightly to himself—seriously, how many manners could someone imbed in their child without the poor thing exploding?

Wait, why was he worrying about such a frivolous matter? He had no clue where he was, or more importantly, why everyone was sleeping on the ground in such uncomfortable looking positions. The last thing he remembered was traveling through the portal... but then what?

"Colette," he hissed. "Colette, wake up!"

The Turbo-Waitress did not budge.

Zelos crawled over to where she lay, a bit annoyed, and gently shook her shoulder. "Colette, wake up." He said firmly.

She tilted her head groggily so one blue eye peeked out from the darkness. She closed it and pushed herself slowly into a sitting position. "Zelos?" she yawned, stretching her arms. "Good morning..."

He skipped the formalities—even the opportunities to make any sort of flirtatious comments—and got straight to the point. "Do you know what happened?"

Still a bit drowsy, she mumbled to herself, "_Something_ happened; I know that much..." she shook her head and spoke up, "Let's see, well... we met you at the Mana Tree, then went back to your mansion to talk about what was going on. You went up to the balcony with Sheena to talk about something, and a few minutes later you came flying through your own front door, so we followed you two—I think you were chasing Sheena, maybe?—into this forest where we saw you and Sheena and Lloyd fighting... kinda. Lloyd said you had been possessed or something, then he said something and put us to sleep aand..." she clapped her hands together in conclusion, smiling. "...Here we are!"

Nothing she explained jogged his memory, irritating him to no end. If only to add to his frustration, he faintly remembered being told something important regarding a day in the future (possibly today, depending on how much time had really elapsed). Whatever it was, he had no idea other than the fact that it was dire.

"...Let's get everyone else up." He stated, getting to his feet.

Colette gave a small thumbs-up, "Okay." then proceeded to lightly shake Genis and the Professor, reciting, "Wake-y, wake-y!"

Subconsciously, the younger half-elf slapped away Colette's hand and rolled over in protest, grumbling. Raine opened one eye. "...Colette?" she muttered, opening both eyes. "What... what time is it?"

"It's mid-morning, I'd say." Zelos answered monotonously. "I'll get everyone else up..."

Shocked, she scrambled to her knees. "That late!?" she exclaimed. "Yes, get everyone awake, we have a lot to discuss!"

Colette nodded in agreement as she, again, attempted the daunting task of awaking the young half-elf—he had a short temper when grouchy, did not like being awakened, and could control mana to a frightening degree at will.

She moved his kendama far out of his reach and proceeded.

A few minutes later, with the others awake and alert, Raine began their symposium by stating the obvious. "We need to know what exactly is transpiring before we can take any more actions. We don't have much time to talk, so we have to make things brief, but informative. Let's start with the basics," she suggested. "Did anyone have any direct encounters, eye-witness reports...?"

Kratos spoke up. "I've had both; I encountered Lloyd earlier at the Mana Tree and a creature akin to whatever Lloyd's becoming."

Thoroughly intrigued, Raine inquired, "Could you recall your encounter with Lloyd?"

The seraph nodded, "Noishe was the one who first found him, however, it seemed Lloyd didn't want to be found as he sent back Noishe with some sort of acidic like substance covering his face. Aft—"

"_Lloyd attacked Noishe_?!" Colette nearly shrieked, her eyes wider than humanly possible as she gripped the protozoan.

"Yes," he responded calmly, going on: "After which, he avoided my questions, but didn't try to flee immediately. What he did say, however, is that he's still fighting for this world, but in a different way."

"We cannot trust that statement completely." Presea puts in, then adding quickly. "Go on, I apologize for interrupting."

As much as Kratos disliked it, he had to agree with her observation. "No, you're right. We can only judge his intentions by looking at his actions—not his words. Which leads me to say he never took the opportunity to strike the entire time."

"So you fought him," Raine said, making an inference.

"I did, but I realize now it was not the smartest choice." Kratos admitted. "Regardless, there's another point I want to make clear.

"I managed to get a few clean hits on him, which had an effect just like it would any other time. When I encountered the creature, on the other hand, any kind of attack—both physical and mana based—gave minimal to no damage at all... mostly the latter." He paused, deciding to tweak his story a bit. "With no other choice, I tried to escape into a nearby thickly wooded area seeing as the creature was fairly large and couldn't navigate to safe its life. Inside, a rancid stench filled the entire area and I had the fortune to stumble upon the source. It was a corpse of a smaller animal just like the one I was fighting, so I bathed my spare sword in its blood and tried once more."

"And you were successful?" Regal implied.

Raine put on a pretense of total comprehension with the information given, while really she was still a bit in the dark. She didn't put up the façade in order to save her dignity, but rather she knew there was a falsehood within Kratos' story that prevented her from piecing together that which Lloyd purposely left out. According to the plan the young swordsman had told her of, there was no way a being of the Other could simply be laying dead in the middle of a thicket.

But as they had all agreed, actions spoke louder than words. For the first time since this escapade had begun, she felt her heart twinge ever so slightly with a feeling of true betrayal.

She realized that it had grown a bit silent, so she spoke up to reinitiate their session. "If nothing else, that gives us one bit of information: a way to defeat them. It's a good start, but if we could get some more background on this, it'd help us much more. Anyone?"

Colette hesitated slightly before raising her hand, a custom she had never quite let go of. "I remember," she started, "before Lloyd starting acting any differently, occasionally complained about having constant headaches."

"Probably thinking induced." Genis snickered to himself.

Ignoring her brother's comment, Raine replied, "That's a good start. Do you have any ideas why that might be?"

She paused to think, then shook her head.

Mostly putting the pieces together of what he had missed, Zelos mumbled distantly, "Maybe some sorta radiation got to him..."

"Radiation?" Presea repeated in a puzzled tone.

"Like from _space_?" Regal followed up.

It was then that a real conversation sparked between them... and contrary to her interested look, Raine was none too happy about it. She secretly shot him an irritated glare out of the corner of her eye before she stated loudly, "_From space? _That's absurd!"

"Not necessarily," the Duke countered, saying, "What's absurd is thinking that any specie from this planet could evolve so fast that it would become immune to all forms of attack that we know of."

Genis backed him up by adding, "And even if it wasn't an evolution completely, but rather a genetic flaw, then the flaw couldn't be successfully passed on to the next generation of that creature which would mean that Kratos had killed the only one—which obviously isn't the case."

Colette agreed. "And above all, it wouldn't give any sort of explanation as to why Lloyd is the way he is!"

Raine had intended on letting a little bit of the truth slip in this conference, but she was starting to fear that they were coming too close to the truth. They had to be averted somehow. "But... K-Kratos—" she started erratically, regaining her composure once everyone had quieted down to a degree. "When you were on Derris-Kharlan, you told us yourself that you had observed some odd changes in the planet; so that means that you were in a fairly close orbit of some sort and could've seen if there were any of this 'invaders', correct?"

The seraph gave it a moment of thought before replying. "...That is true. The Core system didn't record any unusual disturbances around the atmosphere..." he admitted, "But that doesn't exclude the other world; there's no way to monitor that,"

"What do you mean, 'the other world'?" asked Colette, full of wonder.

"He means Hell, or the Spirit World; basically where Nebilium and the Tomegathericon came from." Genius supplied.

"Ooh."

Raine all but blanched as they went on. They had hit the nail on the head and there was nothing she could do to steer them away from the truth. From there, the conversation skyrocketed with varying guesses and theories as it seemed like everyone was talking at once while Raine was desperately trying to think of something to say.

Unbeknownst to those in the continuing banter, Zelos glanced over at Sheena, noticing she had not made a single input the entire day. "Hey, why're you so quiet all of a sudden?" he paused, realization dawning on him. "It... it wasn't something I did last night, was it? I couldn't—"

"No, it's not that," she answered, slightly biting her bottom lip. "It's just... well, don't you have that bad omen feeling in the pit of your stomach? Like something bad is bound to happen anytime soon?"

"Thank goddess," he said, "I thought I was the only one."

Meanwhile, the Professor found that the way to lead them astray was through her own miscalculations: if she announced a theory then they'd surely believe her to some degree, after all, she was one of the smarter people in their group, so naturally they'd believe her, right?

"Quiet, quiet!" she proclaimed, "I think I know what's going on, and—no offense—but I think all that we've come up with, though it has it's speckles of truth, is completely and totally—"

"True."

All turned to see a figure cloaked in shadows step out from behind the darker regions of the woods. The females of the group startled for the most part as they recognized the figured. Scarcely.

Needless to say, it was Lloyd, but not the Lloyd they knew at all. His hair, an untamed memoir to his late mother, had turned the darkest of blacks and his eyes a fierce gold. The crimson marking that used to line him had taken over so much as to make what remained of his skin look like the abnormality. His clothes hung in shreds from every part of his body—the ends charred as if they had been set aflame. Dark circles had appeared beneath his once vibrant eyes.

He spoke in a low voice, scraggly but strong. "I'll tell you everything," He said, "I'll tell you what's going on and why this is happening; I'll tell you how we can still save this world... all I ask for in return...

"...Is your trust."


	15. Last Day Part One

**Sealed Fates**

-----

A/N: A quick thank-you goes out to StrawberryEggs for checking this over for me:D I never really have the patience to get every chapter to a Beta or any person of the sort, so I hope this chapter will be typo free. Also, that MOST of the plot twists and points will be explained. So without further ado, ANSWERS!

-----

All were silent as they continued to look on in disbelief at the momentous changes that had taken over the Lloyd they knew so well. A thin string pulled at all of their hearts, nostalgia the cause as the feeling of encountering Mithos for the last time—their last epic battle—welled up inside the seven few. The remaining two, locked in stoic.

A while of time passed before anyone spoke in response to the entreaty proposed by Lloyd. Genis, his voice wavering, said, "I... We want to trust you, but after all that's happened..."

"I know; I don't blame you." Lloyd replied, though words those of sympathy, his voice yielded none. "But I have the information you want and you've got the strength I _need_."

Kratos crossed his arms over his chest. "Is that so? You seem strong enough to fly solo, it seems."

"It is strength in numbers that I lack." Lloyd corrected, before continuing, "If you're just awakening, then it seems I put you out for longer than I'd planned... this will no doubt throw things back even more..."

"To gain trust, you must first give trust." Raine pointed out sharply. "Perhaps if you told us the truth, you could gain our whole trust. Is that agreeable?"

Lloyd, buried deep beneath his unbreakable front, became the slightest bit uneasy, but acquiesced to their demands. One of their stubborn wills would have to crack first before he could get what he had wanted, but time was of the essence at this point. "Fine, listen closely, though, for a lot went on while you were sleeping...

-----

"All the creatures have reached their potential usefulness, just as you had presumed."

"_Good. Have you dispatched them to their assigned locations and told them of their mission objectives_?"

"As you asked,"

"_Now then, you said earlier you had gone out into the world to scout out any possible dangers or curls that could interfere with our plans. Tell me what you have found_."

"This world has just come off a dawn of a renewed era. As you may remember, previous to this the world had been separated into two different planets, co-existing adjacent to the other on shifted dimensions. Because of that, it had been next to impossible to successfully eradicate my kin—"

"_Your **what!**_?"

"M-my... the organisms that currently occupy the planet,"

"_Do_ _not make that mistake again, infantile corax..._" Pause._ "It seems you have lost your flight_."

"They... yes."

"_Wretched fool. A bird without its wings is nothing more than a worm with legs. Do you honestly believe you are of any worth to me now, or will I have to make you, my own apprentice, be the first of this scrawny race to be put to eternal damnation_?"

"No, sir—"

"_Then prove your extending worth_!"

A sinister grin. "Without me, you—no, your entire race wouldn't last but a breath upon this planet! You need me whether you like it or not."

"_You...! Your impudence will be the death of you**. You** are worthless; it only your blood that I keep you for, have you forgotten_?"

"I've not forgotten—quite the contrary, actually..." Paces echoed forebodingly through the shadow filled Hall. "...I never was able to learn much biology in my school years, but what I do know is that when those of my original kind die, their bodies slowly deteriorate and disappear while their souls live on. So if you wish to condemn me, then by all means, do. The only consequence will be you'll have to wait another eternity for someone as strong as I to come along and agree with your prospect..."

A mocking shrug. "...Or you could always play your cards with evolution,"

"_...Do not let that meager set back be your only assurance. You are becoming like us, insolent fledgling, and when you do, there will be nothing for you if you continue to let your words fly untouched. I have willingly taken you under my wing so that you may be guaranteed life after your former fellow creatures, since you claim to be the strongest of the strong. Nevertheless, even you are nothing more than an insect in my presence_."

Silence.

"_Get out of my sight, and do not dare return until it is time to pass through the final seal_."

"How would you like me to—"

"_I will see to the details of the Undecim myself. Now get out_."

...And so I took my leave.

-----

I returned to Aselia immediately, making my first stop at the Temple of Fire where I warned Efreet of impeding danger. After which, I hurriedly took off in order to advise the other Spirits just the like.

My meeting with Origin did not go so smoothly, however...

"**I am Origin. Who comes before me?"**

"Appear, Origin." I say.

Silence. "**...I see, it's you."** With a flash of white light, he materialized just above the grave stone in the middle of the Torrent Forest. His expression of choice was passive anxiety—to say the least. "**You who lack the right... no, you who have lost my faith, for what purpose have you come? I do not give second chances."**

I shake my head, a devious smirk forming on my lips. "No, I do not seek a second chance—in fact; I ask that you abstain from ever letting the Eternal Sword fall into my hands... as well as those of the Other."

"**The Other," **he began absently. "**They have yet to perish then? Such stubbornness and will to live they show, it's been over four thousand years since they first arrived... I assumed them to be dead."**

"No," I reply, explaining, "They managed to live off a tainted supply of Mana that strayed from the Great Seed for all these years; waiting... lurking within the confines of Niflheim and the Spirit World... And now they're back."

He peers into my eyes for a moment, trying to read my intent. Finally, he sighs, **"If it is the will of the races that occupy this planet to live independently—if it is Fate that shows favor upon them—then so be it. I can offer no assistance in pushing away the intruders,"**

I had expected that sort of answer, but I am still taken quite aback. Before I can remark, he adds, **"...But neither will I allow them access unless they prove themselves strong enough to survive."**

I pause momentarily, giving what he says time to fully process before making a final preparation. "Tomorrow. They're coming tomorrow. Instead of allowing the Massacre of Ten-Thousand to occur, I volunteered myself to be the sole 'sacrifice', if you will. I don't have the intention of letting them go through with their plan, but rather to wipe them out while they're at their weakest... and in order to do that..." I slightly motion to the changes in my appearance, "...I had to become one of them... partly.

"Tomorrow, the other Summon Spirits will be under fire from the 'Undecim'—a group of eleven superiors from the Others—and you as well. However, if I can manage to rally some support, they'll be protected for the meanwhile. You will be targeted by their strongest, Caelestis... but with a little luck and the favor of Fate, I'll be able to defeat him before he can get to you and the rest of this world."

Origin remains silent in thought. It is becoming late in the day, and I need to check in with everyone. As I turn to leave, he says in conclusion, "**Never forget the will of the people you are fighting for, _Eternal Swordsman_."**


	16. Last Day Part Two

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A/N**::sigh:: Don't expect much more from me for a while… the computer holding all—and I mean ALL—of my fics crashed. There were no survivors. A tribute to the lost, if I may: one completed chapter of Prisoner of War, two chapters of The Brothers Wilder, half a chapter of Sealed Fates, three half-way completed oneshots, three Sheelos Fluff… beginnings, five ToS plot bunnies and three ToA plot bunnies. Rest in peace, and damn that hard drive… and my atrocious memory.

And just in case anyone else gets irked beyond compare with this like I do, the first 'confidence' is meant as in "the act of confiding", not reassurance.

----

Lloyd remained silent, perhaps, within his own mind, perusing the rest of the yarn that had only begun to unravel with his confidence. This tale offered multiple endings, the greater part of them considered 'happy', to the lightest degree albeit, whilst the rest held few—if any—consoles to his evaporating existence.

To say he was apprehensive of the latter conclusions would be a truthful misconception, as he dreaded defeat as much as the next warrior with a shard of pride, alas, his trepidation slept soundly within another soul—another body. 'Fear', then, was a rather abstract model that never once seemed to pierce his mental armor…

…unless under the visage of anger.

With two fingers he rubbed at his temples irritably as the silence ensued. He understood this was a lot to take in all at once: he knew _that_ feeling all to well. Under a year ago, after being paid his first visit from the Others, he found himself under the constant strain of migraine fortitude headaches as he tirelessly formulated his flawless plan. After all, something like that was quite a feat for someone who so often stumbled over his multiplication tables.

Regardless of his empathy, his patience wore increasingly thin as time continued to wane. Zelos, comprehending the situation to a satisfactory level, picked up on Lloyd's growing edginess and voiced his concerns. "Look, yeah, this is a lot get all at once, but unfortunately, we don't have the time to be sitting around here trying to wrap our heads around this! If we're gonna help or not, then we're going to have to take action now."

"This is not a decision to be taken lightly," Kratos cut in sharply, annoyed at the young man's impertinence towards the ordeal. A second passed, and the mercenary found himself reminiscing upon the words of the same young man, not only just before, but ever since he had returned to this world from Derris-Kharlan. There had always seemed to be an air of elusion surrounding the former Chosen of Tethe'alla, an aura of enigma and inexplicable expertise.

Just as the yarn had began to unravel, so hath the threads of the yarn unwound.

"You've known about this the entire time, haven't you?"

Zelos let out a minute shocked laugh to mask his uneasiness. "Wh-what? What, do you… I—"

"So it's true!" Colette exclaimed in a rare fit of anger, "You have been acting a bit different lately, but you've been deceiving us the whole time, **_again_**?"

"Colette, calm down." The Professor said flatly, before addressing the issue at hand. "…Yes, it's true; Sheena and I have known as well for some time now. But taking into consideration the delicacy of the situation, it was not a truth to be passed around carelessly." She explained, adding in quickly, "Not that you all are untrustworthy, it's just that with Lloyd acting as the lone double-agent, the less people who know, the better."

Regal nodded in agreement. "Though I can't help but feel a bit conned, it was the right decision to make in the long run."

Genis couldn't resist his old traditions, and so added, "Pretty impressive for you, Lloyd!"

The young half-elf's jab went entirely unnoticed; Lloyd stood a stance sideways of them as he coldly stared through a clearing in the thicket, all senses intently focused. "Mana signatures…" he muttered, turning back to them, golden eyes flashing dangerously. "Draw your weapons."

"Why?" Presea asked, hand drifting towards the handle of her Gaia Cleaver. "Are we not alone?"

An unfamiliar blaze ignited within his eyes: rage, urgency, gravity… the young man's finger's quivered before clenching them into a fist, coiled tightly around the hilt of his battered sword; he squeezed his eyes shut. With difficulty, it seemed, he raised both hands, then, to his head.

Entirely, tremors overtook him, falling to a knee as he could no longer stand. "Nn… not again…" they could hear him faintly mutter, though he could barely hear his own words. Darkness and screeching roars: both had enveloped him completely within his own confines. He only attained inklings of a clue as to what was the cause of these, more frequently occurring, as of late; attacks were—worthless, though they had become. He already knew he had to resist them at all costs.

Colette hesitantly took a step towards him; trepidation nestled in her sky blue orbs. "Lloyd… what's wrong?" she asked, quiet and timid.

Sheena shook her head, pushing back a stray strand behind her ear. "This isn't the first time this has happened… I met with him before when Zelos was possessed and it was the same thing, but now it looks a lot worse."

"Could it be related to—" Genis began, before being abruptly cut-off by Lloyd, who had unexpectedly risen to his feet and seemed almost fine—albeit… his golden eyes looked hazed and continually worn.

"It doesn't matter." He said, withdrawing one sword, swinging it, and then lowering it until it pointed straight towards them. "Draw your weapons, **_now_**!"

"Lloyd, stop; this is madness." Kratos' cold, calm tone did nothing to alleviate the rising tension between the two groups. If nothing else, it only seemed to aggravate Lloyd all the more.

He withdrew a second sword. "Don't make me charge you unarmed!"

"But why?!" Sheena pleaded for an answer, fingering the smooth paper of her cards hidden within her obi.

"_Only those of like mana can lay waste to one another_. If you want to live to see tomorrow, then you'll have to fight me, now!" He chose his opponent in a split second, aiming first for Zelos knowing full well he was the most likely to strike back enough to give sufficient injury.

Just as Lloyd had thought, a shield appeared in a flash, just in time to parry his diagonal clout, but he didn't back down. One blade preoccupied against the steel of the Chosen's guard, Lloyd brought his left across his own self in attempt to pierce the brief opening. His thrust was met only by more steel; he pulled back and sought another blow.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Zelos yelled as their blades continued to ring. Lloyd's attacks were steadily getting faster and more deadly, if he wasn't careful. He had to make the desperate call now.

Luckily for him, help came from one considered least likely to respond to this sort of prodding. Lloyd cringed slightly as a chakram tore a wicked slash through his back; his cringe turned to a smirk as the flying weapon made its way back to its owner, covered in blood.

"Yes… get rid of all of it…" Lloyd laughed softly as he turned swiftly from Zelos to face Presea. With a powerful swing of his blade, he let loose a ravenous shockwave that scorched the ground as it flew towards the small axe-wielder who was not long to hold her earthen blade before her in defense. The wave of light howled as it was spilt by her axe, but she had no time to congratulate herself as she looked overhead to see the vertical assault heading right for her. Despite her unnatural strength, she found herself unable to draw up her massive cleaver in time.

Regal jumped to her aide, easily leaping her height to deliver a round about kick to Lloyd's back, blood splattering his Diamond Shells. Lloyd recovered mid-air from the blow, flipping backwards so his feet hit the trunk of a tree and launched himself back at the ground, this time targeting Raine as she had her eyes closed tight in concentration for a spell.

Though reluctant to act, he showed none of it as Kratos stepped in front of the casting healer. Blades cried as the two looked each other straight in the eye. Lloyd narrowed his angrily, focusing on exerting more force as to break through the guard of his adversary. Kratos remained fairly stoic, splintered with irritation at his son's enduring disobedience. Even after all this, a shard of him still refused to let go of the boy that had left long ago—in spite of the fact he knew full well:

Lloyd, his only son, was gone; this dreck in his place.


	17. Last Day Part Three

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A/N**: My new goal for this fic is to finish it before school lets out, which is around June 6th, I believe. I doubt I'll make that goal, but it's something to strive for, ne?

-----

His thoughts had betrayed him.

In an instant, Kratos' guard cracked under the continuing pressure from Lloyd above, and so the dreck could willingly strike in whatever way pleased him most. Blood lust seemed to be the general consensus of the group as to what drove their friend to such lengths. Naturally, it was so.

Seizing the opportunity, he struck once, blunt edge first, then only thereafter ground could be felt beneath his feet; another powerful shockwave soared from his potent blade with dead aim at his sire. The pure might of the blow sent the Seraph backwards unto the casting half-elf he had intended to shield. Other than a few scratches and an interrupted spell, no real harm hindered them further.

But what blood could measly scratches offer? Unnaturally, it was not so; therefore.

The two preoccupied but for the moment, Lloyd turned on the half-elf with his trusty kendama drawn, nay at rest in his small hands. He urged, "Don't do this, Lloyd… This isn't you!"

Although words were but paper born blades thrown at his guard wrought of cold iron. He provided himself a split second of thought as to how to approach this situation without staining his own hands. Genis, as he knew him well, did not have great physical reflexes and lacked a proper defense—attacks came from a distance and were rarely, if not never, from any sort of hand to hand combat. The boy was a bit cowardly when the coercion of death encroached his mind.

His cowardice would be the key, but for now, Lloyd returned his words briefly before spotting much better prey. "Conditions have changed."

Incredulity flocked the swift actions of his new form as the old one slowly seeped out of him like blood from a gash. He promptly bent at the knees to brush the ground with the tips of his fingers as Zelos' weapon swung horizontally overhead. To his distant right, Sheena, her cards at eye level, prepared for him a spell that whipped up the mana surrounding the two swordsmen in practice. Sword in hand, he crossed his self and shot the tip straight for the ninja, knowing full well she could evade such an assault.

Gaining a free hand, Lloyd planted it firmly and spun with his legs extended, knocking the Chosen from his stance and onto the ground efficiently. On his feet within an instant, he stood over Zelos threateningly.

He narrowed his eyes, spinning the hilt of his blade within his palm, he speedily drug it across the battle-skewed land in a ring that enclosed them both—the initiation of a lethal Demonic Circle.

Adrenaline ran through them all like they had not felt before—fight or flight, it asked of them.

Sheena, overdriven with fear for Tethe'alla's Chosen, responded, _Fight_.

"_O, Diviner of the Stars and Heaven; Creator of All, I summon you! Come, **Origin**_!"

As called, the King of the Summon Spirits appeared with a brilliant flash. A double-edged furious sword locked in each hand, fiery wings of sharp down a-blaze and beautiful crested jewels orbiting the being in a frenzy, he directed the earth around them as three pillars of lightning rose from the ground, entrapping Lloyd and Zelos, his captive, within a triangle of condensed power.

Fierce the winds and quaking the ground beneath, the three columns sizzled with raw power as they grew like flora from the earth. With every passing moment, the winds shrieked with rage as they spun ever the faster. Overhead, clouds of black gathered, it seem; an audience unto their foreshadowed demise.

The plasma beams danced, seemingly, catching the gusts' wings a flitter as they spiraled upwards, creating an inescapable vortex; the Grande Finale short to arrive.

Even over the dirge of the heaven's wrath, all-too-familiar a screech rang louder about Lloyd's mind, stronger than ever. Zelos arose, aghast at what lay before them: eyes unbelieving, expression undeceiving—mind paralyzed with dread.

"Well, bud…" he said, an uneasy chuckle to his tone, "…How're you gonna get out of this one?"

"Kneel, "Lloyd commanded, "Cast Guardian. Two is better than one."

Uncertainty carried away with the wind, Zelos took one knee and prepared his stance. Still, a final question escaped him, "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"I didn't draw this circle for nothing,"

A nod, and he cast.

This, far more than he had ever intended to let run unchecked, Lloyd's hazel eyes returned to him and his hair and skin alike as he gathered what little glow of his soul remained as he yelled against the howling gales, cackling thunder and roaring earth:

"**_Guardian Seal_**!"

In a magnificent clap of energy, the prism of radiance imploded unto the two beings trapped within its wake. Not long thereafter, another light manifested and engulfed the arena in its entirety, and but for that one moment on their planet, it seemed as if silence reigned as all waited for the radiant sphere to cease.

None could trust what they saw… or rather, what they didn't.

A circle, drawn crudely upon the earth withstood the sheer force and stood lamely amongst the scorched land. Until recently entrapped in its boundaries, Zelos knelt as the last of his Guardian preventative faded away, leaving him with only minor nicks.

But to his right stood Lloyd, normal in features with his hands gripped tightly around the hilt of his sword, dug into the ground as a stand of defiance. Eyes sealed shut, he inhaled quickly and deeply, the pain of his endless burns and gashes visible in the ragged breath he then released. His grip loosened.

He fell to the ground.

This turn for the worst uncoiled their fears to reality. The finale no one had wanted had come from the nightmare everyone had foreseen—a death of another: their comrade; their friend—with still not an absolute explanation as to their most simple of questions:

Why?

Raine ran to their aid, reassuring Zelos' health as she hurriedly prepared her spell. "Holy powers, bring back this soul from purgatory…"

"This is so not cool," Zelos spat bitterly, "I swear, if—"

"Resurrection!"

Axe dragging in the dirt behind her, Presea took a step forward. "Lloyd is… okay?"

A suspense-filled silence her only response before Origin spoke in their stead. "**…There can be no more time for lamentation. Strong life forces have started to manifest near the Temples of the other Summon Spirits.** **If it is the will of your kind whom occupy this planet to live—if it is Fate that shows favor upon you—then travel to the Temples and defeat each of the creatures that awaits to slay the Summon Spirits. I can offer you no more assistance than that, for if The Others are truly more fit to take this world, then so be it. I cannot stand in the way of Fate.**"

"But can you assist us if it does not shed blood for either side?" Raine asked of the being.

Origin paused, "**…Speak your wish**."

Intervening, Kratos explained, his gaze determined upon avoiding the body that lay before Raine and his tone upon forgetting—for now. "The only way to defeat these beings is to get the blood—the mana—upon your weapon. We have nine Summon Spirits to protect and there are eight of us." He glanced at the sword next to Zelos. "Zelos, use Lloyd's sword."

He went on, "Presea will travel with Regal, Sheena will travel with Zelos, Genis will go with Colette and Raine will come with me. We'll each travel to one Summon Spirit and fight off the creature that is there. Once the creature is either defeated, or both of you have its blood stained on your weapon, call on Origin to take you to another Summon Spirit."

"That still leaves one unguarded." Colette worried.

"But if Origin will be helping us, then they can't get to him," Genis filled in.

"Correct," Kratos said, before turning to being that awaited their wish, "Origin! Please take Regal and Presea to Volt's Temple, then Sheena and Zelos to Maxwell's domain; Colette and Genis to Efreet's lair; and Raine and I to Aska and Luna's whereabouts!"

"…**As you wish**,"

In a brilliant flash of light, Regal and Presea vanished from sight, shortly followed by Sheena and Zelos; Colette and Genis, and finally Kratos and Raine.

Just before the Seraph and Professor were teleported from their location, Kratos let his gaze lay upon the corpse of his only son as it dispersed into the wind. Leaving behind only the ring engraved upon the earth, a representative, almost, of the circle of life that encased them all and of their battle between 'good'… and 'evil'.

-----

Sheena looked on as they reached the small town of Exire, the proud structure of Maxwell standing tall against the raging currents. An almost unfamiliar void had settled within her, making her feel oddly alone as she awaited along side the Chosen for the creature to appear.


	18. Quick and Fiery

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A/N**: After a long bout of thinking—done in the bathroom, naturally, where all great thinkers… think—I managed to come up with a new ending for this story that is MUCH better and explains a lot more… it gave me one heck of a headache to think it up, but hopefully it'll turn this into my best fic (plot-wise) yet! D

Oh, and there is a reason why some of the text is italicized so sporadically. Enjoy!

-----

Determined, two figures stood before the mystical void within the Spirit Realm as it swirled and tilted on its invisible axis. Its pupil of light a crooked stare at the two whose path it became between, tipped its gape and blindly observed.

"_For_ _one thousand of your years, wars raged upon our world. We fled from our warring planet, drifting through space for centuries until we came upon your world. Four thousand years have passed since then, and my people have reached their limits as we've waited patiently for just the right time to arrive_…"

Caelestis turned partly to his junior, his wings of shadows spread wide with a sinister grin flashing beneath his dangerous gold-red eyes. "_War and time really have taken a toll on me, it seems. I used to be just like you used to be, you know_…"

"…_I_ p_re_fe_r_ t_o t_h_in_k o_f_ m_ys_el_f_ _a_s _an_ _i_n_div_id_u_a_l_,"

"_You'd like to think so, wouldn't you? Really, you and I are one and the same… you'll see."_ Pause, "_No matter, you've regained your flight. An odd turn you've taken, but it's pointless to look a gift horse in the mouth. Refresh my memory as to how that transpired_."

"_I h_av_e_n't to_ld_ y_o_u _on_ce, _a_nd _yo_u _i_n_s_i_s_t _I_ r_em_in_d_?"

"_Fine, then. Tell me_,"

"…_I_ _a_c_ci_d_e_nt_a_l_ly_ re_v_e_al_e_d_ _u_n_wa_nt_e_d _t_hi_ng_s t_o_ a g_r_ou_p_ o_f_—"

"_Never mind_," Caelestis cut in, "_I remember that feeble falsehood, and the truth behind it_."

"…_Y_o_u'r_e th_e_ o_n_e _w_h_o'_s c_ha_ng_e_d, _si_r."

Caelestis turned back to the seal, smirk unfading from his features. A thin strand of his jet-black hair fell over his face. "_Yes, I suppose I have_." He mused, "_Once a Wandering Swordsman, then a Gentle Idealist to a Boo-rish General… and now I am back to being the Gentle Idealist whilst you fulfill the role of the Eternal Swordsman…_

"…_Indubitably, Fate enjoys poking uncanny fun at those caught in its web_."

-----

Regal and Presea arrived uneventfully at Volt's temple—desolate and devoid of any life, it seemed. The image of a sanctuary of old reflected off the colored, now dulled, marble blocks that erected this wistful structure. Only in the back of the mind could the echo of thunder be heard within the time weathered halls.

Not a moment had passed and Presea already let her fingers run along the handle of her blade. "I sense… an unidentified presence,"

Keeping a keen eye on the shadows, Regal shifted in his stance as he, too, felt the benevolent company stirring amongst the stone. "There!" he heard the girl shout as she pointed to a murky figure atop Volt's altar with a shape resembling a jaguar with mauve eyes shaped to a livid glower shining like amethysts through the darkness. A low growl reverberated from the creature as it stealthily moved through the shadows. With ease, it scaled the pillars standing tall to hold the altar above the ground and placed itself a center the small stage-like area, tail twisting around its side in a smug show of stature as it held its head high over them.

"_Come and get me_," it seemed to dare.

Neither party immediately took action. "It's trying to lure us into doing something we cannot reverse," Regal warned. "We must not be hasty in our actions."

"Yes," Presea answered, "But unless we do something, we will accomplish nothing." That said, she rushed forward, but by no means in a manner reckless, with her axe drawn faithfully beside her—a spark flashing overhead the Other sent her screeching to a halt.

An annoyed mew, and the jaguar leapt from the altar, the spark growing as large as a sun. It cracked, sizzling with raw energy as various pillars of lightning all throughout the temple fell within a heartbeat. While none struck so close to harm, they could feel the prowess sweep through them in a tremendous roar, the ground underfoot trembling as the sheer power of the strikes charred the tiles and left all energized—more literally so than in spirit and stamina.

…And naturally, if Zelos were here, he would've no doubt quipped about afros, but be it as it were, he wasn't, and for that they were thankful.

From the cackling sphere of violet light, the mighty sentience of lightning rose and took form, focusing his cold gaze upon the foreign creature that dared trespass in his sanctum, sanctuary and realm.

Through soundless static he spoke, Volt unto his intruder, "_I am Thor's Hammer, Godly Thunder and the Deity of Destruction of this world. You who have no right to exist upon this realm, for what purpose have you broken through the Spirit World? Speak, or be gone; I have no such patience for the irresolute_."

Standing tall upon all four, the creature brushed its tail along the ground then let it curl up by its side, repeating the process as it met the omnipotent being's stare beat for beat and poise for poise.

It said, unheard to all but its intended recipient, "_I am Celer. I come not from your Spirit World, but from another world all its own in search of salvation. Alas, this world is polluted with such the foulest of air—it's positively_ unbearable!_—so if the superior race is live upon this mud ball of a world, then we need you to perish along with the refuse you call_ 'Mana'." It made a smile of all its shining white canines. "_Are we in an agreement_?"

The Lightning Deity answered without words as he shot forth a beam aimed for his new found foe—who inexplicably _dodged_.

That was all Presea and Regal needed witness to know that their final battle had begun.

-----

"_If I remember correctly_," he began. "_The reason why you regained your flight was because you sacrificed something dear to you… and that dear object was_…"

Caelestis sinsterly grinned; he looked the being accompanying him directly in the eye. "_That's right, I remember now. And because of that, it wouldn't be right to continue calling you by a name that is no longer yours_." He paused, "_Henceforth, your name shall be Animeus, a fitting name. Unless I'm mistaken, it's from an old word meaning_—"

"_M_y so_ul_—I _h_a_ve_n'_t_ l_o_s_t_ _it_,"

"_Yet. Don't forget, the instant you agreed to this, you knew you'd lose everything human to you. You've only been able to retain what you have for this long because I deemed it so_."

"_Yo_u c_an_'_t_ co_ntr_o_l_ _m_e,"

"_Is_ _there something you'd like to come out and say? I'm starting to get annoyed at all this beating around the bush you've been doing lately_."

"…_N_o, _sir_."

Caelestis turned from him to face the abysmal gate before them, his eyes as cold as stone. "_You're pathetic, Animeus. Get your act together_."

"D_o_n'_t_ _c_al_l _m_e_ _by_ t_ha_t _n_a_me_,"

"_Oh? Then what is your name_?"

Silence.

"_You say you haven't lost your soul, and yet you can't even come to remember your wretched mortal name_?" A great suppressed anger welled inside the Other, showing avidly in his tone. "_I don't want to hear another word from you. You're weak. You can barely stand, you can barely walk, and you're hardly able to utter logical phrases. You've lost all fight in you, fledgling. You're nothing but a conscious carcass held in the talons of demise. If you have any will to live at all, then step through the portal ahead…_

"…_And if not, then I'll make sure to kill you here and now_."

-----

"Look out!"

"—_Tidal Wave_!"

The air within the Temple of Fire turned cold, and swept through the solitary room in the form of raging waters. Colette quickly sent her chakram soaring into the fireball aimed directly at her half-elven ally, the meteorite disappearing into the surge of waters as her weapon returned to her, badly singed. Their eyes followed their foe as it leapt from the ground and onto the roof of Efreet's altar, narrowly escaping the icy waters below. It roared in annoyance, releasing another barrage of flames from its mouth; the Ktugach like creature wanted nothing to do with the two mortals.

Genis provided a gust of wind just as the searing flames licked at their faces, the blaze subsiding in a haze of smoke. Behind the screen, the Ktugach stepped upon the altar's stage, rearing its head back in an unearthly howl; it summoned the Wielder of Fiery Valor.

Colette squeaked in fright as Efreet appeared just before her, stumbling, as only she could, in mid-air. Genis still had yet to clear the fog from his vision, but could sense the immense gathering of mana, and halted his spell to await the Summon Spirit's commands.

Efreet's eyes bore into the creature, "**I am Efreet, the God of Fire and War. You are trespassing within our world. Get out, or I shall make you burn in the eternal depths of Purgatory**!"

"I'm _Fervidus. I've come to dethrone you, so, I think you'd better get out,_ now." The Ktugach flicked its head upward in a challenging motion. "_Or, I could have my way with you and these little vermin. Either way suits me just fine,_"

Never one for words over actions, Efreet beckoned for his fiery lance as flames engulfed the room entirely. His lance materialized from the flares that danced around the room and shot itself directly at Fervidus, which, being the dog-like dinosaur any Ktugach was, snatched the overgrown stick between his potent jaws, jeering at the Fiery Warlord.

"Colette!" Genis called, an all familiar cerulean emblem appearing beneath him. "Cover me!"

"Uh… okay!" She answered uneasily, facing the scuffle between the two sentiences with great hesitancy. If she were to enter the fray now, she could possibly attract attention to the casting mage behind her, but if she stayed put, Efreet could take damage—which was their whole antithesis for coming here in the first place.

She chose a median.

"Oh Holy One, blind us with thy glory and bless us with the splendor of thy song..."

Meanwhile, Fervidus, spear still in his grasp, had considerably closed the gap between him and Efreet as he artfully darted past—or in other cases, simply ran through—the many blazes and flares that ignited along his path. Once he had reached the ethereal being, he leapt upward and brought the spear enclosed in his fangs backward, apt to strike. Efreet thrust a hand forward and gripped tightly the neck of his enemy, a scorching blaze welling within his grasp.

"**Burn… **_**Raging Inferno**_!"

"…_Holy Song_!"

"_Tital Wave_!"

Fervidus was thrown violently from the hands of Efreet, which now harmlessly smoldered from the aftermath of the attack. The Ktugach flew through the air, lance still in his grasp. Thinking quickly, he swiveled in the air and thrust the lance into the wall, and then swung himself onto the blunt of the blade. He latched himself on the singed tiles of the wall and, taking the handle between his jaws once more, launched himself towards Efreet, without a single singe and eager for round two.

Colette's remedial song filled the room almost instantly, surrounding herself, Genis and the deity of fire in a pinkish aura before becoming absorbed into their spirits. As the melody faded from the air, a cold chill resonated from the dying notes as water spilled forth from cracks in the tiles. The glacial waters swept through the tiny room, crashing at anything in its path. At the peak of its rage, it had swollen just before reaching Efreet with Fervidus riding the wave's top. He grinned devastatingly before allowing the wave to crash, he, bounding from its top with the lance pointed downward, dove to pierce the Warlord.

Overwhelmed by the waters, Efreet could offer himself no protection.

Fervidus stood triumphantly over him, continually pressing the lance further and further into his chest. Abruptly, he stopped and hurriedly ran from the being as a mighty explosion of raging flames overtook Efreet as he wrathfully rose and tore the lance from his torso. He gave no indication of pain, for the wound filled with tiny flares and appeared to repair itself within seconds, but not even a semi-god could undergo such injuries forever.

"_**Inferior beings**_!" He roared, turned his fury on Genis and Colette. "**Withdraw from his fight at once! You only do more harm than good, you **_**wretched mortals**_!" With that, he enclosed them in a ring of fire that shot out of the ground all the way to the ceiling.

"Uggh, I'm so stupid!" Genis yelled, clutching his head in anger. "I never got any of the other mana on my kendama, so my spells won't do any damage to that stupid Ktugach, who's using Efreet's own weapon against him in order to attack!"

Colette tried to peer through the flames, apprehensive, "What are we going to do?"

"What _can_ we do?!"

'_What the hell are you doing?!' Zelos yelled as their blades continued to ring. Lloyd's attacks were steadily getting faster and more deadly, if he wasn't careful. He had to make the desperate call now._

_Luckily for him, help came from one considered least likely to respond to this sort of prodding. Lloyd cringed slightly as a chakram tore a wicked slash through his back; his cringe turned to a smirk as the flying weapon made its way back to its owner, covered in blood._

'_The only way to defeat these beings is to get the blood—the mana—upon your weapon.'_

Colette looked resolutely at her chakrams, observing the crimson stains that tarnished the battle worn golden exterior, every scratch upon its surface a hard earned victory from their first bout against a pack of boars in the Ymir Forest, to their recent rout of a friend overtaken by outside forces.

She shook her head of those thoughts, uttering Origin's words to herself, "There can be no more time for lamentation…" She steeled herself, embracing her chakrams as to siphon their strength.

"O Sacred Powers… cast your purifying light upon this corrupt soul… _Rest in Peace_…

"_Divine Judgment_!"


	19. Winds of Change

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A/N:** In another A/N a while back, I believe I mentioned that 2007 would be hectic… and I just met the height of that very true statement and am still at its peak, I fear. Finals, extensive trips and last minute summer arrangements have completely taken over my life these past three weeks.

Whoo! Longest chapter yet! 2,819 words! (Pitiful, but it'll get better.)

-----

"…_Animeus. Did you hear me_?" Caelestis questioned dangerously. He then muttered under his breath, "Frater parvus nequam,"

"_I_ h_ea_rd _y_o_u_, _si_r," came the agitated response, "I_'m_ w_a_iti_ng_ f_or_ _yo_u t_o go_ thr_o_u_gh_ the _p_o_rta_l, _as_ it w_o_u_l_d _b_e un_fit_tin_g_ f_or_ a_n_ ap_p_re_nt_ic_e_ _t_o g_o_ b_e_fo_re_ h_i_s _m_a_s_t_e_r—n_ot_ _t_o m_en_ti_on_ _di_sre_sp_e_c_tfu_l_."

"_Cut the formalities and just go_."

"_W_h_y?_"

Caelestis smiled darkly, a devilish glint flashing within his golden eyes. "_Well… you know_," he said. "_Let's just say a little birdie told me of a conspiracy set up by the creatures of this world having to do with the portal to their world from this. …You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, now would you_?"

"…_N_o, _si_r."

"Really." He replied, not amused. "_Think harder, if you can do that without hurting yourself_."

Naturally, it was a lie, for he knew exactly what his superior spoke of. Because of that, he found himself facing a serious dilemma. It had been quite a while since he had opened the portal from the Spirit World, and quite a while since Sheena had applied the seal upon it. Since then, he knew that Caelestis had sent—unsuccessfully—many a creature through the void and he could already feel the seal bursting at the seams with all the malevolent and unnatural forces. That left little room for the next thing to come, which no doubt would be Lloyd himself.

Lloyd knew it would be fruitless to try and persuade him otherwise, so that left him in a tight spot—more a moral dilemma than anything else. If he kept strong to his soul—as strong as he could be with only the shard he had to summon back from Sheena, anyway—then the seal would no doubt break, unleashing a metaphorical Rain of Hell on his planet, and countless innocents could be killed. On the other hand, if he lay low, then he, too, would be caught in the seal, saving everyone from the wrath, but… who would be left to handle Caelestis?

…Not the mention what he would then become?

"_I_f _yo_u ar_e_ w_o_rr_ie_d, _s_ir, _I_'l_l _pro_c_ee_d _thro_ug_h t_h_e _p_or_ta_l, b_u_t ar_e _yo_u_ s_u_re _a_bo_ut_ th_i_s '_c_on_spi_rac_y_'?"

"…_Hmm, no. Not entirely_," he said. "_But I'd love to know for sure that I have someone I can truly trust with something like this—someone who is truly loyal. I just want to know where you stand and what… or who, you fight for_."

He went on, adding, "_After all, a man who cannot even trust his past is a shallow man indeed_."

Sincerity, Lloyd mused with a subconscious sigh of relief, now there is something I can pull. "_M_y a_ll_egi_an_ce s_t_an_d_s on_l_y _w_it_h_ y_o_u, _s_ir. _T_h_er_e i_s_ _n_ot_h_i_n_g m_or_e _I'_d li_k_e th_a_n a s_e_at _of _po_w_e_r_ _in_ t_h_e ne_w_ w_o_rl_d_ y_o_u a_re_ _ab_out _t_o c_r_eat_e_."

"Really_, now? Because I could've sworn you fight for this planet and for all who inhabit it. That you fight for good, for evil, and for all those caught in the crossfire_." Caelestis grinned subtly as Lloyd's blood ran cold through his numb frame. "…_And perhaps yourself, as well_?"

-----

Expectedly, Kratos and Raine arrived in the secluded area where the Linkite Tree stretched its branches towards the sky as the wind danced with the leaves and nuts whimsically, creating the most fickle and lighthearted tune. The enclosing mountains as their only witness, Luna stood in the shade of the Great Linkite, playing the melody upon her hand crafted lute as Aska circled the glorious sprout with its two heads whistling along in beautiful harmony. At the unforeseen arrival, the two Summon Spirits quelled their gamboling. Luna brought her lute from her lips, looking towards them in calm wonder; Aska swooped and landed beside her, gazing similarly.

"**Greetings**…" Luna said, her melodic tone a tad displaced in her mystification. "…**Why hast thou come? Thou hast been delivered by Origin's prowess… has something gone awry in your plans**"

"Something like that," said Raine, "Have you felt any erroneous presences?"

"**Eight**." Aska answered almost immediately. "…**As of right now, there are eight misplaced beings roaming this planet. Put your minds at ease, mortals—we have been forewarned**."

"By whom?" asked Kratos.

"**The boy with hair of brown**," Luna replied. "**He traveled with the Chosen's entourage**."

"Lloyd," Raine presumed. "What did he say?"

Aska snorted, leaping back into the air. Luna watched him as he flew near the mountain's peak, surveying the land outside their domain. A second passed, and the bird like entity began to wobble in his flight, his two heads reeling back as if to shield themselves from something. That something reached the grounded party moments later.

A shrill shriek pierced their ears, its pitch sharp unlike anything they had ever heard before. Like needles the waves seemed to impale their minds mercilessly until the screech finally subsided, giving them a chance to look at its source.

But by then, Aska already lay in the dirt before them, cringing as the note still rang in his ears. In his place, an enormous creature beat its wings and croaked in victory. It made to plunge, tucking its large ears backward as it streamlined its slim body, releasing another scream.

Narrowly dodging its swoop, the group turned to face its nemesis, who conveniently perched itself on an outstretching branch of the Linkite tree. Like an overgrown monkey, it grasped the limb and swung itself around to face them in return.

The term 'overgrown monkey' really wasn't a far off guess as to what this creature was exactly. Large ears topped its canine head, like those of a bat, while it balanced using all fours like a monkey would. A long, wiry tail extended from its behind, waving blithely beneath it. In short, it appeared to be a lemur-bat the size of a full grown man.

It blinked grotesquely, one bulging dark eye at a time, taking in the four. As if to stretch, it rolled its neck counterclockwise, then to one side and back—almost reaching all the way around, like an owl—then finally seemed to quell.

"_Caecus_." It squawked, then flipped its wrists, saying, "_Shoo, shoo, shoo_!"

Luna attempted to bargain with their primitive intruder. "**You who impede upon our world: I ask thee leave in peace and return to thy world, for thou art unwelcome here**."

But still Caecus flipped its wrists, now hopping about on the branch, repeating, "_Shoo, shoo, shoo_!"

Raine sighed, "I really hope all the creatures aren't like this…"

"I doubt they would be," Kratos returned, withdrawing his blood stained blade. "Hopefully he's only as tough as he looks."

Caecus stopped, cocking its head aside as if it had heard the mercenary's quip. In a flash, it spread its arms as its bat-like wings fell into place and unleashed another head splitting screech.

Temporarily paralyzed by the pure sheerness of the note, Kratos and Raine could only watch as the being leapt from its perch and lunged towards Luna, who, somehow managed to endure the screech and prepared a counter spell from her large arsenal of light-based attacks. By this time, Aska had risen and spread his glowing wings, preparing to send an assault of razor tipped feathers at his foe.

Kratos could tell already that this was going to be more annoying than anything else.

-----

"So, what do you think?"

He had asked a very basic question, one whose answer almost wholly depended on the context of the situation. It could be a question of preference, of belief or a desire for advice of sorts. Be it as it were, however, he was motioning at nothing, hinting towards nothing and had not established any sort of subject. It was a very basic question that he asked of her: "What do you think?"

Sheena gazed distantly at the foreboding skies over head. She replied, "Based on the apocalyptic nature around us, I wouldn't be surprised at all if hell tore the clouds apart and rained down on the world."

"Ever the pessimist, I see." said Zelos. "You've gotta work on being more optimistic."

"I'm not entirely pessimistic," she shot back. "I hope for the best, but mentally prepare for the worst."

He just shrugged, smiling. "If you say so."

For a moment, they stood in silence, awaiting a cue to spring into action. Zelos' smile faded as an uncharacteristically sullen and grim shadow seemed to fall over him. "So, Lloyd's really dead now, huh?" he muttered. "Dammit, I wish he could've told us more! Now we're left here to face them all alone without any sort of real game plan! …Dammit, Lloyd!..."

Sheena replied, downcast, "It's not as if he planned on dying at that moment… Unexpected things happened: I shouldn't have called on Origin, but… I panicked. I lost my trust in him; in everyone."

"So he did plan on dying?!"

"N-n—I don't know! He didn't plan _on_ it, but he may have planned _for_ it," she corrected. "All I know is that his goal is… was to eradicate the Others by defeating them from the inside out."

Zelos chuckled darkly. "It's just like the Renegades and Cruxis," he said. "Lloyd tried to play the role of two people—Yuan and Kratos—but I suppose things like that can only work once in a normal life time, eh?"

"And naturally the two events coincide within the same lifetime…" sighed Sheena. She paused for a moment, and then picked her head up as if to overlook the bad thoughts. "…But there's no use in pondering it. We've just gotta keep fighting for what we think is right; that's all there is to it."

He raised his eye brows a bit, eyes widening in surprise—only for a second before they lowered in the depth of his understanding and sympathy. "Sheena…"

A fiery glint flickered distantly in the murky skies above, unseen by the two, shortly accompanied by an explosion of lightning and thunder that seemed to surround the glowing light. As time trickled by, the faint shine grew until it split into three identifiable spheres of blazing glory as they tore through the very fabric of the universe, screaming shrilly as they neared the earth.

Zelos retracted a step, his attention snatched and gaze grave. Sheena turned flat out, cards already in hand; she faced the coming onslaught with an unbreakable resolve. In secret, he envied her strong preface, but not what he knew to be firmly driving it.

In three magnificent claps, the radiant orbs smashed into the ground distantly outlying Maxwell's pillar, making not a detonation of any sort, but merely merged themselves into the floating land, leaving only a half exposed of each. On the surface, tiny clouds of golden dust orbited the reddish-orange suns before a dark mauve glow emanated from their cores, causing the semi-spheres to pulsate violently.

Zelos already knew what was to come, based on his experience with Origin—if it made a triangle, it was bound to be deadly. He grabbed Sheena by the arm, exclaiming, "Get out!" as he bolted from within the area the spheres had begun to enclose. Not given much choice, she followed directly behind him, but turned as soon as she'd reached its outer edge.

From each sun, one laser extended upward, then fell to the ground, connecting with its brethren as to create the aforementioned deadly triangle, continually ripping the earth asunder where so ever their lasers brushed it. Sheena defensively covered her eyes and face with her arms as a brilliant shield rose from beneath the island, easily shattering the marble tile lining the statue as it shot up into the skies. The winds quickly turned to howling gales, whipping through the air and carrying any bit of debris that it could so erode from the surrounding area. The oceans beneath the isolated Exire roared and crashed; lightning ceased to flare, but the growl of the thunders echoed relentlessly. It sounded as if the earth itself was howling a battle cry against the intruders to come.

From the triangular prism, another cry resonated, splintering the encasing as light flooded out from the broken seams, leaving all who stood to watch blind at its mercy. Another cry; the light dispersed, forming in the high center a smaller orb of light which slowly took shape. Two grand protrusions, one right, one left—the beautiful and intricate outline of feathered wings. Three long, winding extensions proved to be tails and one atop formed the head of a crane. The whole being itself appeared to be ignited whether by feather coloration or by ways of a real blaze, one could not distinguish.

Without even a dither of its majestic wings, it drifted downward with poise before perching soundlessly upon the tip of Maxwell's pillar. It brought its wings to its side, peering down at the two mortals with gleaming jade orbs.

Silence.

"_Come out, old man_." The phoenix-creature demanded in a capricious, but cold, tone. "_I know you lurk behind your curtain of your creation. Could it be fear that keeps in you hiding? Fear of that of which you know little about? Come, for we are parallels_."

Not to be seen, Maxwell could be heard laughing. "**Parallels, you say? I think you've perched yourself too high on this one, young Gnartias**." Zelos rolled his eyes. He hated it when old people made bad jokes.

Gnartias body shook with suppressed chuckles of amusement. "_Well, then I see there's no need to introduce myself_."

"**You** **are Gnartias of another world far away. Your kind—shape-shifter kin, if I'm not mistaken—seek this world for your own ends due to your choice of exile from your warring nations, led by a boy from the heavens—one of our own.**" Said the summon spirit. "**Do not take me for a fool, but rather a well-traveled and well-versed one**."

Both Sheena and Zelos could not mask their shock, as they stood frozen, overcome with fear and realization.

"One… of our own." Sheena repeated. "It can't be…"

Zelos shook his head, "No fucking way…"

They looked at one another, the same name running through their minds and rolling silently off their lips.

_Lloyd…?_

-----

Two dark figures, contrasting the beautiful, serene environment surrounding the Mana Tree in full bloom, stood beneath its glory. The sky overhead, though the entire crisis, remained as blue as it had ever been.

Caelestis stretched his midnight wings, red-golden eyes filled with a new malevolent energizing blaze. He smiled darkly at the being by his side.

"…_I've bequeathed_ _you with all the power of our people, all the cunning of the wild and vision beyond the present day. How does it feel, Animeus_?"

His thick black hair had fallen over his face as he looked down at the palms of his hands, then the back. He murmured quietly. "_I_ _fe_e_l_… a_s_ _i_f I'_v_e _be_e_n_ r_eb_o_rn_… r_en_e_wed_… l_i_k_e_ _I_'ve _ne_v_er_ f_el_t _b_e_f_o_r_e." He peered through the strands of his hair at the world around him. "_Th_e _wor_ld… I'_ve_ _ne_v_e_r s_ee_n i_t_ _i_n _s_u_ch_… _d_i_sa_r_ra_y. T_hi_s _is_… i_nc_red_ib_le…" he trailed off, his stare returning to the backs of his hands. "_An_d…"

Caelestis narrowed his eyes, focusing on the object that had so caught Animeus' attention. A small stone, attached to the skin, pulsed weakly as if in pain, with a blue to match that of the sky's own. With every pulse of light, the glow grew dimmer and the stone duller in the sun's gleaming light, but still it appeared to fight with all it had just to make every pulse.

"_And_…?"

Animeus did not respond, but diffidently placed a hand over the stone. He paused, eyes glazed in thought.

In one swift moment, he had torn the stone, crest, skin and all from his body and held it high above his head. As he did this, a breeze blew the strands from his vision, and his eyes revealed to be ever the livelier, fierce with vitality and life as it could be seen coursing through him.

But never before had they glinted so cruelly as when he opened his hand to the sky above, letting the stone glimmer and bask in the light mercifully.

He crushed the sphere, releasing the dust unto the swift winds.

Turning to Caelestis, Animeus flashed a dark, mischievous smirk to his superior. "I'v_e never_…" his voice had grown deeper, dropped all traces of his former self—the one who stood before him was a new being entirely.

"…_I've never felt so __**alive**_!"

-----

**Post Note**: PLEASE REVIEW.


	20. A Sealed Fate

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A/N**: Well… so much for my deadline. XD After this, there will be two to three more chapters, an in-story "epilogue-ish" chapter, and then a separate epilogue story set in three arcs. After that, then maybe I'll FINALLY find the time to post The Brothers Wilder (after finding all the scraps of it from the different journals I used since my old comp hard drive went psycho), and re-start Prisoner of War again. Poor PoW, a victim of bad circumstances…

-----

_The situation has turned dire… everything could be ruined. There's no reward for failure._

_-_

"_Dammit, Lloyd! We don't have a choice! We strived to create a world in which everyone can prosper without sacrifice! We did as much as we could but now we're in a deficit! For every pull there must be an equal and opposite push!"_

"_Don't you think I know that already?!"_

"_Do you? The world is full of checks and balances, high points and low points; it's the way the life works! You can't defy the laws of being!"_

"_I know. That's why we have to beat them at their own game if they can't play by ours."_

_-_

_I pluck the leaf from the branch. As soon as I do, it bursts into visible mana, blinding me for the moment._

_-_

"_Lloyd, you're not a child anymore and this isn't a game. You seek to destroy this world when just a year ago, you were fighting with all you had to save it?"_

"_I'm still in the fight to save this world. There is just more than one path to the same end."_

_-_

"_Stop!…It looks like we have no choice." _

"_I refuse to fight you. You can swing all you want, but I won't strike back."_

_-_

"…_If you want to put this to an end, you're going to have to choose the world over your other wants!"_

_-_

"_...If you don't do this, everything'll be ruined,"_

_-_

I had never realized how true words could be. I had never realized, until now, that upon looking back, life seemed all just a preparation for something more to come. I had never realized—had never thought—that my life would determine my biases and everything thereafter.

I had always thought life _was_ my everything.

And… if that were true, then I would have lost my life. I would have lost my everything.

But now, here I am, standing; watching over the earth I once tread upon. I'm… not alive, but there's no way I'm dead. If I were dead, I'd be surrounded by darkness, no doubt searching for the portal back to the world of the living, as it's still clogged up with that seal. Even so, I still have so much to do before I can let myself even submit to the idea of death somewhere along the road.

"_**Lloyd Irving-Aurion**_,"

I turn quickly from my view of the world; looking around, I see no one. Who called me? Maybe I'm hearing thin—

"_**What you've done… what you are doing is horrible**_."

Never mind. I don't need to see them to know who's talking now. Heh, I mean, I'm floating in the middle of space! Who else would I hear? Gnome?

"_**The Summon Spirits are not restricted to their domain upon your world**_."

"You can…? Well, yeah, that makes sense…" I say, mostly to myself before continuing. "Goddess Martel, I know that what I did was wrong, but I only did it to try and banish these beings from our worl—"

"_**Even as they are trying just as hard to live as you and everything else**_?" she admonishes.

"But that's not my intent! They're the ones trying to exterminate us—to eradicate us completely and erase the mana that comprises everything as we know it!"

"_**Calm down**_," she says. "_**It is true they are doing something malicious. From disparity and necessity spawn spite and iniquity—all beings who have a will to live are subject to that creed; the nature is inevitable. Never forget that, for it shall someday bring about your own demise**_."

My demise… the result of a simple penury? I can't fathom—no, I don't _want_ to imagine it'll come from something as minor as that. …But that's not the issue right now, I've got to focus on what lies just ahead.

"Goddess Martel," I start, "I cannot be content to die right now—and while I know this isn't your first request like this—I ask that you… no, I beg you to let me have just a while longer!" I pause, lowering my voice in slight remorse. "…I unleashed a terrible wickedness upon the world and its people, so I have to be the one to stop it! I can't just run away from my sins and what I've done, I have to face them so that others won't have to. There is no point in dying for a cause! It's only through living that anything can be accomplished!"

For a moment, everything is silent, and my heart sinks as I fear she's already abandoned my cause.

"…_**You truly embody your own quintessence—your motives are not muddled by personal desire nor do your past actions speak differently than now as you stand before death's door**_." At this point, I have to withhold my instinctive urge to sputter, "Huh?" as I have no idea what she said completely. Luckily for me, She goes on, "_**It is for this reason, as well as your previous endearments to the worlds, that I will grant you a second chance at what you have left behind.**_

"_**But heed my warnings: what lies before you is score of tribulations I would not wish upon anyone. You shall be thrown back in, only to be cast out once more, but into a world of which you are not familiar with in the least. As you do so, always keep in mind your experiences here as they will guide you back this world that you so dearly love. Only then, after what may seem like a toll of millenniums upon your worn frame—of mind and body alike—will you be reborn again, as if only the blink of an eye has passed. That is where you may finally pursue the happiness you were first born to seek**_."

I stand numb for a second, trying to process all she's said and make sense of it. I don't get a bit of it, but it doesn't sound too pleasant.

"_**But with your secure return, I need from you but one thing: uphold your end of the promise, and you will be assured your lifelong happiness. Do I have your vow**_?"

Without a second thought, I nodded my agreement… but wait, it couldn't be this simple... "W-wait! How am I going to return if I have nothing to return to? My body was—"

"_**Yes, I know**_," she interrupts. "_**Lloyd Irving-Aurion, have you not stopped to wonder, to think, why it was you and only you the Others wanted? Why, over all the beings in this world, they chose you? For even if the worlds hadn't been separated, they would have still waited until this day. …Can you hazard a guess as to why that is**_?"

I stop, mulling over everything in my head. When nothing else comes to mind, I offer, "He said because I was the strongest."

She pauses. "…_**Mayhap you very well be, but that is not the correct underlying cause**_." Slowly, I can feel myself fading from this place, little by little everything grows more distant, save for her final words. "_**Let these thoughts not resurface until all is at peace once more, but always listen carefully to the words given to you by others' way. The direct answer will never appear before you until you unearth it for yourself, but it is always there, buried beneath other intents and meanings for the things said. Fate always has a strange way of fabricating eerie truths through those it manages to entangle in its web**_."


	21. Allegiance

**Sealed Fates**

-----

Lloyd looked around. Lloyd was Animeus and Animeus was he, and if Animeus was to Caelestis just as the name christened, then Lloyd…

It seemed little to no time had passed since he had regained himself in Martel's presence. He was back in the body he was most familiar with, but there seemed to be a few new buttons and gears that were his for the taking. And oh, how he loved tinkering.

"_Caelestis—sir_," he inadvertently hesitated, taking in one of the new changes not so gracefully.

"_Call me what you like. There is no need for formalities… not anymore_." He smiled, the glints and traces of cruelty near faded entirely from his façade.

Lloyd returned his grace. He had come to a chilling conclusion—one that he would surely not look forward to later on, be it correct—but as for the moment, he felt an overwhelming sense of confidence—he was serene, unruffled; his mind filled with wonder and awe—as he directed a chink of conversation towards his near-equal, articulated for a last time as a student to his sire.

"_Sir, before we head out, there is one more thing I need from you_." He said, "_It is essential_."

"_Yes_…?"

Lloyd looked to the azure-scape overhead with yearning eyes. "_To_ _soar just below the heavens… or perhaps alongside them… one needs a form fit to graze the clouds_." He paused. All of this fancy-speak was hard to come up with on a whim. "_I need instruction only from the best! How I might go about the simple transformation from one live to another_?"

Caelestis seemed openly puzzled with this request. Animeus should know the answer quite well, so why must he repeat himself? He just dubbed it a fluke and proceeded. "_Simple. Now that you are as you should be, you can assume any form you know to be true. The process should be without explanation, but if you insist… Gather all the energy you can muster towards the center of your body. Then, once you've collected all you can reach, let that energy expand outward into the form of your choosing_."

Shortly thereafter, the golden-eyed man disappeared into a small sphere of light, and then not a second later reappeared in the form of a great bird with feathers as dark as night and a wingspan to cover the sky. He kept himself hovering over the ground with periodic beats of his wings.

"_If you are indecisive, you will alter into your most native form. Because you and I are the same—born under the moon of Potentinfusco—that is what you see before you. More commonly known to this earth as the… raven_."

"…_So_," Lloyd said, doing just as Caelestis had taught and no later found himself in a form not dissimilar at all to the being beside him.

"_Very good_," he commended mirthlessly, preoccupied with the next objective. "_Now all that's left is to find and overtake Origin_."

Lloyd lifted himself higher in the air, impatiently saying, "_Origin? I know exactly where he is! Follow me_!" With that, he turned and took off hastily in pursuit of the Summon Spirit.

Although, he planned on making a few stops along the way…

-----

Lloyd soon found that flying as this was much different than he was used to when he had flown before, for obvious reasons. Though very different through timing and energy consumed, the basic dynamics were essentially the same; he adapted fairly quickly.

Flying at a rather fast speed was nothing new for the shape-shifter Caelestis, so as they flew over repetitious land forms, he became slightly jaded as he tailed Animeus, letting his mind drift. Looking down at the open plains reminded him of the carefree days that were long gone to his mind.

Those were good days, he thought to himself. Being what he was now was always respectively interesting in its own ways, but he'd trade it all in a heartbeat for what he had had and lost long, long ago.

Within his distraction, a memory flashed before his eyes—they were his premonitions of sorts, and what had gotten him through quite a lot back on his warring planet. His eyes stayed focused on the ground below, but of it he saw none. He saw those who had believed in his crazy ideals—those who had fled a dying world with him in hopes of salvation—dealt the cards of death before his eyes. One by one their souls scattered in the air and were thrown back into the vacuum of space, home bound to start anew.

All of them: Caecus, Celer, Fervidus, Gnartias, Alacer, Nidor, Malefiden, Procella, two from this world who had opted to change… there was one more. One more to add to the death toll, but as sudden as the memory had come, as did it depart. It left him with only one avowal that chilled his whole being.

_From disparity and necessity spawn spite and iniquity—all beings who have a will to live are subject to that creed; the nature is inevitable. Never forget that, for it shall someday bring about your own demise._

He could place neither a time nor a name to the doctrine or from whom it was given.

Caelestis brought his mind back to the perturbing images brought to light from the great depths of his memory. All of them had been first hand. He had killed them long ago.

Lloyd grinned within his mind as he dove. He gathered his energy, changing from the raven to his human-esque form, letting the wind push back his locks of black as his great wings took the air and propelled him downward.

Caelestis cursed; sometimes, he hated when his memory served to be right.

He abandoned his flight, transforming, as well, to his own dark, human shape. He drew the weathered sword that hung at his hip, bringing it upward as to face the cold metal for a last time. He looked at his reflection upon the blade's once smooth surface—a pair of fiery golden eyes stared right back at him. It had been millennias since he had last a need for this weapon, so needless to say the metal hadn't fared well against time, he understood that. But…

Caelestis sliced his sword through the air, slashing the image into pieces.

"_No more light shines on this blade, as no more does upon my actions. What I have done_…" he closed his eyes; a smirk forms, and he laughs in spite of himself. "_But now, the least I can do is fight for what I've come to believe. Whether just or corrupt, perhaps it will finally set straight that of which I've come to accept as my… twisted… fate_."

He opened his wings fully behind him and, with a clap of thunder, he charged after his once trusted accomplice. "_Animeus… no, _Lloyd_… you have betrayed me for the last time_."

-----

"_**Heads up**_!"

A frustrated Kratos perked from battle as Caecus continually eluded his attacks, fluttering this way and that at the last minute. It had driven the usually patient mercenary to the edge of his rope and back again. At this interrupting cry, the giant lemur-bat landed on its favorite branch of the tree and looked to the source. He may look like a total ditz, but Caecus had learned to recognize the energy signature of a kinsman, at the least.

The creature beamed, revealing a polished set of sharp canines, and pointed towards the source of the voice. "_Frater novus_!" it exclaimed in a shrill squeal. It turned back to its assailants, now pointing a clawed finger at them. "_Dead! Dead! You gonna dead! De—_!"

The air was ripped from its living body as one swing of a sword sliced through its furry body, just above its shoulders. Blood spilled down from the tree as Caecus' dislocated head fell limply to the ground like an apple from the tree, both bulging eyes wide open as dirt collected freely on their wet films. In its moment of surprise before death, its wings had spread. Like a shameful flee, its limp body fell to the ground, but its wings still caught the air and flew the headless corpse into a thicket of smaller trees.

Raine looked up from her casting to see a dark figure rest atop the branch once held by Caecus. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the two Summon Spirits still tense, telling her the battle wasn't over.

The figure turned to face them.

She could tell for herself that, for the moment, it was over. She could pick out that childish grin anywhere, though she didn't quite recognize the form otherwise, she knew that goofy feature belonged only to…

"Lloyd!" she called. "You're alive?!"

He continued to grin from where he was, shooting one of his infamous trademark poses. "_I'm back_," he declared audaciously, "_to finish what I started_!"

Kratos, though both perplexed and relieved at Lloyd's return, caught glimpse of a black through the sky and shouted, "_Lloyd_! Behind you!"

Metal howled in a dying roar as he turned quickly to block Caelestis' strike, however, with his inadequate footing, he lost balance and was forced backward until he slammed into the ground—though this time learning to avoid smashing his wing joints in the process.

Calestis' eyes burned with hatred and rage as he ceaselessly forced his sword towards his former pupil. Then, with a cruel smirk of deceit, he pulled backward as to free one hand, with which he drew another sword. The first sword still in hand, he called, "_Demon Fang_!" bringing it down just before Lloyd's shoulder before the boy could muster the nerve to narrowly evade his strike.

Without a second to spare, he rolled aside of the shock wave and pulled himself onto his feet, reaching to his right hip. He grasped air.

"_Damn_," he cursed, placing both hands awkwardly on his lone sword as Caelestis straightened up to face him properly. Ever since discovering the wonder of two swords in battle, he'd never gone back to just one. It had been so long since he'd trained single-handed, so to speak.

Eyes as hard as steel, Caelestis glanced sideways at Kratos and Raine. The Seraph held his sword in a ready position while Raine appeared caught off guard with one hand behind her back. There was a light circle of mana traced out beneath her, glowing ever so slightly.

"_Don't even think of interfering_." He warned the two gruffly. He knew full well he had no real way of hurting them, but that didn't matter so long as they didn't know that.

But Lloyd did. Though he would be grateful for any help in taking down this man, he guiltily knew he had to keep things on task. Protecting the Summon Spirits came first.

"_Luna! Aska! Disperse_!" Lloyd shouted, "_Kratos; Raine! Go to Shadow's place! Quickly_!"

"_Acting as Grand Ringleader, are we_?" Caelestis questioned dangerously. "_That ends now… Double Demon Fang_!"

"_Guardian_!"

Kratos sheathed his sword reluctantly. "Origin! Please take us to Shadow's Temple!"

Origin appeared overhead, as requested. A light shone from one of his four hands as he nodded. "**As you wish**."

"_Raging Beast_!" Caelestis yelled, before turning to face the two once more. He exclaimed in rage. "_Origin, you…_!"

The Summon Spirit shook his head. "…**Child from the Heavens, Maxwell has told me of your fate. Your tribulations are nearing an end, the end at which your pursuit only then begins. Do not be foolish**."

"_What_?!" he hissed.

Meanwhile, Lloyd recovered from his stagger due to Caelestis attack. He jerked his head to see a small light flash from the tips of Raine's fingers. All around him, green mana swirled. He smiled slightly. "_Thank you, Raine_."

"You stubborn idiot." That said, Raine disappeared.

Kratos paused before following in her footsteps. He looked directly into the eyes of his son; though he could not see the auburn eyes they shared, or the locks of brown from his mother that often obscured the boy's view, he saw the man his son had grown up to be. Regardless of the situation, he was proud of him. He was proud of his recklessness, stupidity, and everything in between. But most of all… his sense of responsibility.

"Lloyd… Don't die."

Kratos vanished.

Lloyd nodded, a genuine smile gracing his features. Wordlessly, he transformed into a raven—as he knew time was of the essence, and he could get their fastest in said form—and took to the skies with great haste. He knew in no time Caelestis would be on his trail, if not at on riding his heels launching various aerial attacks, but for now he flew solo alongside the winds.

"_Don't worry, Dad… I won't. …I promise_."

-----

**Post-Note**: I originally intended for this to include much more, but I guess I got caught up… I suppose that's good news, seeing as I'll need yet ANOTHER chapter to fill in everything before the ending chapter and epilogue-chapter.

And on a side note, did anyone else not like the ToS OVA? I was utterly disappointed…. Oh well.

_Please_ review.


	22. Final Chase

**Sealed Fates**

-----

The Lightning Temple, with its already dismal front shown to the world around it, was darker than night itself inside its moss covered walls. Four combatants clashed vociferously with their only glimpses of their surroundings the occasional vain strikes of lightning that would for an instant illuminate the temple in a cruel radiance.

Volt, being the passively egotistical sentience it was, didn't at all enlist the help it was receiving from the two mortals who aided him in warding off the intruder, but had to admit—albeit only to itself—that they were actually quite useful. It had started to note that—per se it even managed to strike the meddlesome creature with a wicked strike—its attacks had done little to no damage. It was as if the creature was oddly immune to Thor's Hammer.

The two humans, on the other hand, managed somehow to fight through heavy veil of darkness and wreak a decent amount of harm upon the jaguar-esque figure who had dubbed itself Celer. While Volt sustained its fair share of wounds, Regal and Presea valiantly whittled Celer's energy down until it found itself lagging as it still dodged strike after strike of lightning, axe-blows and kicks alike without putting the Summon Spirit in too much danger, just as their mission asked. It wasn't long after which that their hits started to fall.

Skidding backward on the now scratched up tile after barely surviving a vicious blast to the torso, Celer shut its left eye tight, blood flowing freely from a wound to its head, and roared stubbornly. "_You impudent _things_! How dare you defy your superior race?! I'll attend to it myself that a fate befalls you worse than death_!"

Unseen to it, Presea lurked behind with her axe held high at her shoulders. One clean, silent swing and the jaguar crumpled onto the cold stone floor, unmoving.

With a brilliant flash, Volt disappeared and the temple was once again alight with its dim glow. Regal approached Presea, "Excellent work." he said. "Though our client is less than appreciative, it looks like we've managed to keep Volt safe from these 'Others'."

Presea nodded to accept his respects, but soon after stated, "We cannot linger on our victory for long. We must head to our next destination…" she looked vacantly towards the ceiling, calling, "Origin! We request to be sent to our next destination!"

The Summon Spirit's voice reverberated off the temple walls. "…**As you wish**."

-----

Lloyd neared the Lightning Temple with great haste. He considered it a miracle that, to his knowledge, he wasn't being closely tailed by Caelestis, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth and so continued on his way with as fast as he could manage.

Suddenly, a dazzling light shone for a second over the temple before dispersing into the air. He recognized it instantly as Origin's teleportation signature and halted as best he could mid-flight.

"_Guys…"_ He murmured breathlessly. "_Thank Goddess for good teamwork_."

Sparing a final glance back at the temple, Lloyd started off towards Efreet's Lair, scanning the skies for the small village of Exire as he went.

-----

"This guy just doesn't get it!" Genis growled, still encased within the ring of fire. His spells deemed useless against their foe, he could do little but to try and convince Efreet of their supportive intents. "What happened back there was a mistake! We're trying to get rid of Fervidus, too, who's trying to kill you and steal your spot as the Summon Spirit of Fire! And if that happens, this whole world will fall to the reign of the Others!"

The Fiery Warlord paid no heed to the half-elf just as he had been doing for the past several minutes—almost amounting to a half and hour at this point—and left him encased in a cage of fire. Colette had managed to slip through the fire after releasing her Divine Judgment, but because her ally lacked the physical reflexes, she found herself alone in facing this enemy.

This, somehow, failed to faze the Little Angel, who had nullified all of Fervidus' attempts on her life and on Efreet—who, of course, could easily evade a few strikes here and there when he wasn't under fire from both sides of the battlefield.

Time had visibly begun to wear on them both. They stood with an even distance separating them, beads of sweat dripping down Colette's face from the intense heat from the constant fires that flew through the air, torched the ground and everything in between.

The ktugach had long abandoned the lance he'd used to impale Efreet instead to focus on taking down his resilient new opponent, who was much more of a threat since she could actually do him harm. He continued to sidestep within the ring of flames that had erupted around their arena, panting slightly as he glowered malevolently, hatred burning in his eyes.

A low growl resounded from him, becoming one with his voice as he spoke, "_I'll admit, missy, you're one helluva fighter_." He spat gruffly, "_But you keep playin' with fire…_"

Fervidus lowered himself to the ground, laughing darkly as the flames around him reared up, "…_eventually you gonna get burned_."

Colette looked him straight in the eye, as serious and spiteful as the blonde girl could ever be even as the searing flames slithered towards her. "No, I won't!" she shouted back gallantly, hurling one chakram into the gaping mouths of the serpents. She looked on in weary triumph as the snakes scattered into clouds of smoke as her weapon tore through their flame born structures.

But Fervidus had seen this all before—the girl definitely didn't get points for creativity. Watching as his blazes disappeared before him, he scanned through their soldering ashes for a glimmer of gold, every muscle in his body tense with anticipation. Finally, he spotted it, and leapt into the air.

His doggish features shone as he landed solidly, clutching in the grasp of his carnivorous jaws a single chakram which he dropped to the ground in front of him. It clattered harmlessly on the stone as strings of saliva littered its nicked surface.

"_You just don't learn too good, d'ya, missy_?" he asked, leering. "_And without your frisbees, you're nothing more'n a scared little _kitten_. So mew—_mew for me, kitten!"

Fire erupted once more behind him as he charged forward, white incisors viciously displayed as he covered the ground between them in a split second. Colette only had the time to cross her arms in front of her before his smoldering canines dug into the nook of her shoulder, ripping the skin and muscle from her as he passed.

She gasped softly as the blood poured from her wound. She fell to her knees, clutching her shoulder and biting back the tears that burned her eyes.

Through the raging flames, Genis heard her cry. He dashed to the edge of his cage, the flames licking at his face and hands. "Colette! Colette!" he yelled. When there came no response, his face became contorted with fear. He was a coward—he wouldn't deny it—but his friend was in danger and no one except him was there to protect her.

He shut his eyes tightly, his small body beginning to shake. "No… I can't! I can't!" he wailed. The tears that trickled down his face quickly vanished as the flames brushed them away. "I can't do it—I can't save Colette… I wish Lloyd were here. He could save her!..."

He stopped, opening his lavender eyes, more tears escaping. "Lloyd's… not here. Lloyd is… dead." He told himself, swallowing hard. "…I have to save Colette. It's what Lloyd would've done—the Lloyd who was my best friend… it's what he would've done."

Slowly, Genis rose to face his cage of flames, eyes steeled as he gripped his kendama tighter than ever. He shouted, "Colette, hang on! I'll save you!"

-----

Where he had expected to see the ancient relics marking the Fire Temple reaching out from the sands of the Triet Desert, Lloyd saw only a haze of fire. He checked behind him once again, expecting to see Caelestis right on his tail, but still he saw only the open skyway he had covered.

He knew that this was just too odd to be normal, but for the moment he had to investigate whatever was going on in Efreet's Temple.

Lloyd soared downward, cringing slightly as the searing flames brushed over him; he looked through the clouds of smoke for a window or crack in the structure he could use to get in. He spotted only one such entrance, and dove towards—

The next thing he knew, he was on the ground with a pounding headache. He dazedly shook his head and looked back where he thought he'd seen a small way in, but all he saw was a diminutive indent in the brick. Cursing, he hastily returned to his human appearance.

What he thought was an entrance was really a smoke induced illusion; he left that idea behind and decided to simply create an opening of his own. His lone sword withdrawn, a single Beast was all he needed to break through the ancient stone. He dashed in with great haste, the ground torching his every step and the heavy ash filled smoke stinging his eyes, he listened intently for the sounds of a scuffle.

Grinning with a blood stained smile, Fervidus slowly turned to face his opponent, who had crumpled onto the scorching stone. His tail lightly brushed the floor as he paused to lap away the salty crimson. He adjusted his stance to a more relaxed appearance. "_I'll admit, you had me worried for a while, kitten. Luckily for you, I don't kill if it can be avoided, so get out of here now along with your little friend. At least that way you'll have a chance in the new world Cael promised_." He finished muttering, and turned to the cage of fire behind him. "_Ya hear that, pipsqueak_?!" he barked.

In an instant, ferocious winds arose within the temple walls, extinguishing the flames with their mighty gales. Efreet, who previously had taken a spectator's position after it seemed Colette could handle herself, surrounded himself in a fiery explosion and disappeared before the scathing winds could pierce him. Fervidus scowled as the gusts—harmless to him—died down to reveal a half-elf before him with his kendama held high over his head. His normally soft lavender eyes had hardened with resolve, the rims of his eyes touched with red.

"I'm _not_ a pipsqueak!" he argued resiliently, bringing his childish weapon down at his side, ready to cast.

Fervidus rolled his eyes, annoyed with their stubborn attitudes. "_Whatever_!" he roared, "_Just get outta here if you wanna live_!"

He shook his head, trying to keep his legs from doing the same. "I-I'm not going anywhere!"

Before the ktugach could let another annoyed growl escape, his ears twitched and he spun around to look behind him, ready to pounce. Lloyd knelt next to Colette, helping her through her injury; he saw this and instantly was at ease.

"_Hahaha, Cael! I knew you'd come_!" he laughed, "_Looks like this world took a few years offa ya, that's for sure. Lucky bastard. Hey, you mind offin' these human-things for me? You know how I am_…"

Colette gaped up at him, surprised. "Lloyd, he thinks you're someone else!" she exclaimed in an excited whisper. "Who's Cael?"

Lloyd remained still, his expression almost as blank as the blonde's beside him. He didn't recall any named 'Cael', but he knew at this point who he—supposedly—looked identical to. His eyes lit up in his epiphany. "_I have an idea, play along_." He whispered before clearing his throat and addressing Fervidus. "_Fine_."

"_Memorcum accipio_." Fervidus spoke smoothly as he turned back to Genis.

Lloyd quickly looked to Colette. "_I just remembered, if you take the warp pad out of here, there should be an apple gel left over from when we came here a long time ago. You can use it to heal your wound_." He told her, wrapping his hand over her throat lightly. "_I'm going to say, '_Wretched human'_, and you fall over and act like you're dead, okay_?"

She nodded slightly. "Okay."

He smiled faintly, before putting on a solemn face and scoffing, "_Wretched human_."

Just as she was told, Colette collapsed onto the ground, her golden hair falling over her close cerulean eyes. As Lloyd stood up, Genis looked beside himself with fear and sorrow. "C-Colette…! How could you, you… you…!"

"_Don't waste your breath, shrimp_." Fervidus advised coldly, striding past the half-elf. "_They're numbered_."

In a deadly silence, Lloyd withdrew his single sword, treading the scorched stone underfoot with light, swift steps. In a moment he stood just beside Fervidus as he prowled towards the altar, and in one definite motion ran his blade through the ktugach's spine.

Frozen in mid-step, Fervidus turned his head in painful jerky movements until his emerald eyes met with the golden orbs of his assassin. His ears drooped as his eyes grew wide. "_You're not… Cael_…" he sputtered feebly as he wearily fell to the ground. "_Frater novus… Cael was right… dammit_…"

As the creature crumbled to the ground, Lloyd let out a quiet sigh. Returning his weapon to its sheath, he beamed over at Genis. The half elf was dumfounded, to say the least. "_Genis_!" he called. "_It's me, Lloyd! Chill out_."

"But you can't be…! L-Lloyd…!" he squeaked, "You _killed_ Colette!"

His eyes widened with realization. "_Oh, right_!" He turned around, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "_Colette, you can stop pretending to be dead now_."

Immediately the girl stirred. She sat up, cradling her shoulder with a smile on her face. "Oh, okay. Did I do a good job?"

Genis' mouth hung half-way off his face, still reluctant, or perhaps too much in shock, to believe him. Lloyd shook his head. "_C'mon! I say_ 'Chill out', _you say_…"

Tentatively, Genis stuttered, "Ice Tornado?"

Lloyd smirked. "_Wanna charge_?"

"Thunder Blade."

"_Pancake time_!"

"_Stalagmite_!" They exclaimed in unison. A grand smile on the half-elf's features replaced all the irresoluteness he had previously faced. He laughed, "Lloyd! I can hardly believe it's you!"

"_Yeah, I could tell_."

"But what exactly happened? Why'd that Fervidus-guy call you '_Cael'_?" Genis inquired with a shrug.

Lloyd frowned within his mind; the name sounded so familiar, but he just couldn't place his finger on it. "I'm not entirely sure, but he mistook me for someone else and let his guard down…" he slowed as he reached the end of his statement, another account coming to mind as he spoke. Suddenly, everything made sense: Cael was short for Caelestis, the person to whom he, in this form, looked exactly identical; Caelestis mastered the same techniques and knew everything that Lloyd did, and had needed him over all others on the planet; this all because Caelestis had said it himself, "_You and I are one and the same_;_After all, a man who cannot even trust his past is a shallow man indeed."_

It wasn't even a matter of trust, he realized. Rather, it was because he could be easily duped—and rightfully so. Caelestis had put so much emphasis on capturing the Summon Spirits, as if through them it was the only way. But it wasn't.

In order to create the new world, Yggdrasil never fiddled with much of the Summon Spirit business other than to obtain (or rather, create, at the time) the Eternal Sword with which to make anew what he pleased. Anything was possible through its power, but since Lloyd had forfeited the right to Zelos before undergoing his ordeal, that meant that Zelos—as well as Sheena—were the new Pact-Makers. And if the Pact-Makers were dead, then Origin would be open to a new pact.

Zelos and Sheena were in grave danger.

Snapping to, Lloyd asked in a panicked tone, "_Genis! Colette! Quick, where are Zelos and Sheena_?"

"Uuh… They should be at Maxwell's shrine… why?" Colette replied, but before she could get an answer, Lloyd had disappeared.

-----

The rain poured down from the heaven's as the extravagant battle on the tiny floating city of Exire came to a standstill. A great raven, descending before the marvelous phoenix, Gnartias, hovered just above the stone, its beady golden eyes gleaming.

In a burst of lightning, Caelestis stood before the two, smiling darkly.


	23. Departure and Epilogue

**Sealed Fates**

-----

**A/N**: Well, thanks for all your reviews, guys… This is where it ends. Thanks for sticking with it so long—and I really mean it. ;

Who will win the battle between 'good' and 'evil'—furthermore, which is which? Just who is Caelestis, and what is his connection to Lloyd? And what does fate have in store for him? Read and find out!

-----

"…So, this is where it ends… It's about time."

High above the stars, a pair of stoic green eyes surveyed the raging planet. He gazed evenly through the small window before turning from the sight, his cape catching in the draft. He strode silently, the only sound throughout the muted city of angels being the solemn click of his boots against the steel floor.

He took a seat facing a large wall lined with monitors of many different sizes each with different images flickering on the screen. He stared upward, scanning each monitor of their content and location. His emerald eyes finally rested on a medium sized panel, portraying the small town of Exire at Maxwell's monument as it towered over the scene forebodingly—a dim light against the stormy horizon. Just before the statue, a figure shrouded in a heavy darkness stood with his head held high, seemingly scrutinizing over the two humans standing ready before him. A fiery phoenix perched itself atop Maxwell's monument.

He began lightly typing onto the controls before him, the swift fluttering of the keys deafening against the perpetual silence of Welgaia. In response, all monitors ceased their previous tasks, instead streaming various shots all centered in Exire. With the range of angles, he could see every aspect of the scene as it came into being.

Rain sodden and anxious for action, Zelos and Sheena appeared on many of the screens, confronting the intruder with unwelcoming glowers.

Silence spanned in the small room; no audio was available with the surveillance footage, but it was unnecessary anyway. Throughout his four-thousand years of existence, he had learned how to read lips, body language, facial expressions—everything there was to a living soul.

Yuan leaned back placidly in his chair, watching evenly as the final chapter of the fate of his home planet unraveled before him. Behind his iron veneer, however, he couldn't help but fidget within the confines of his own mind.

Zelos pushed a wet strand of hair from his eyes. "I hate this guy already." he huffed. "Getting all fancy and crap with his entrance, I swear—"

"Lookout!" Sheena called out, stepping in front of him and casting Cyclone Seal in just the nick of time. A line of smoldering flames was thrown askew by her quick casting; Gnartias scowled, albeit slightly impressed as he reared back to shoot another barrage of flames, but withheld as Caelestis waved him down.

"Tch… Thanks, Sheena." Zelos said, annoyed at his own negligence. He shook his head, regaining his composure. With a cocky flick of his sword, he stepped out from behind Sheena, asking with an edge, "What's with this, Big Bird? Couldn't take out two lousy humans on your own, hmm?"

"_Says_ _the man from behind the shield of a_ woman." The phoenix sneered. Immediately, he took to the air as two sharp objects whizzed just below his gruesome talons. He hovered just above the statue with periodic beats of his fiery wings, anger burning in his eyes.

Two more shuriken held between her knuckles, Sheena growled, "You wanna say that to my face?!"

The dark man chuckled enigmatically at the events. He glanced over his shoulder, addressing Gnartias. "_That will be enough, sire__…__ Go off in search of__ the old man Maxwell; I will handle these two_."

"_Hmph__… as you wish…_" he finished with a small laugh, "…boy." He ascended from his hovering perch and flew off into the distance, eventually disappearing into the stormy, foreboding horizon.

Immediately, Zelos looked ready to spring into action as well. "Sheena! We can't let… that _thing_ get away! We have to follow it!"

"I kn… I know, but…" she replied hesitantly, before becoming more resolute. "Don't worry. We'll get it after we finish off this guy."

Caelestis faced the two with a dark—yet almost eager—smirk. "_The_ _Summoner__ and the Eternal Swordsman__…_" he remarked, pausing. "…_A divine combination.__ …You do know that you are the new wielder, don't you_?"

Zelos met his gaze with a wordless steel glower. He made no response as he adjusted his shield and weapon, his eyes never leaving those of their interloper.

Sheena glanced sideways at the former chosen before returning her focus as Caelestis spoke. "…_Heh__, you know it alright. __But… you don't know how to use it. I… _Lloyd_ forgot to tell you. It's worthless in your hands, so… just hand it over, already_." He commanded apathetically. "_Don't make me have to take it from you_."

"Go ahead and take it." Sheena challenged tauntingly. "We're the only things standing in your way. …So go ahead. _Try_ to take it."

"_There's really no bending fate… It always has to be a fight…_" he sighed, withdrawing one tattered blade. In an instant, his golden eyes hardened as he called out, "_Double Demon Fang_!"

As the twin shockwaves raced towards them, scorching the ground they covered, Sheena instinctively leapt backward, while Zelos raised his shield and prepared to meet the assault head on. Following in behind the waves, Caelestis ducked behind the curtain of light, both weapons drawn and apt to strike.

Sheena caught sight of the darkness shadowing the last wave and sent her remaining shuriken whirling. "Zelos!" she shouted in warning. "Attack the second wave!"

He threw his shield upward to parry the first shockwave, throwing it haphazardly aside where it dissipated in a burst of light. He hurriedly cast her a puzzled glance, but quickly repositioned to attack nevertheless. He charged forward on the charred tile. "_Light Spear_—"

Completely aware to their ploy, he opened his midnight wings, catching a stormy gale beneath his feet, he propelled out from behind the luminous screen. Once he maneuvered behind Zelos, he took to the air.

"—_Cannon_!" Tethe'alla's chosen cried out as swiveled mid-air to finish his combating clout upon the second shockwave. As the light shattered into the dusk, his eyes grew wide with horrid realization. Blazing flames licked menacingly at his back, accompanied by an all too familiar call. He could feel Caelestis' sinister grin upon him.

"_Rising Phoenix_!"

He was suddenly thrust downward; a sharp pain rang through his back as searing blazes erupted all around him. Zelos cringed as the marble tile grew closer and closer, but he knew he wasn't down for the count. In a dazzling burst of orange light, his wings shot out behind him; he swiftly spun around to face his assailant with a cold, hateful glower. With a powerful swing, he offset Caelestis' blades, who then lagged back in a hasty retreat before dropping lightly to the ground. Zelos managed a speedy recovery, skidding backward on the rain slick surface, biting back a cringe as his wound split in agony.

As soon as he landed, Caelestis jumped backward, effortlessly dodging Sheena's attempting swipes. Seizing a momentary let up in her assault, he stepped forward and prepared a mild Beast, however, Sheena countered in a flash. "_Demon Seal Pyre_!"

Caught a bit off guard, he was blown backwards by the violent explosion of mana, staggering gracelessly as he landed.

Zelos, back on his feet, saw his opportunity to avenge his loss and sought to take it without a second thought. He would finish this twisted abomination and put an end to their seemingly perpetual fighting that continued even when they had—supposedly—saved the two worlds. It was all a circle of endless and pointless violence, but with this moment he found the ability to ascertain an end and a peaceful future. For everyone.

With the tempting thought of reprieve fresh in his mind and coursing through his veins… he stopped. Zelos dropped his blade to the ground, letting it clatter noisily against the rain sodden marble tile. Thunder clapped above and the seas roared below the floating island, but all was silent and still.

Four dark wings, three tattered blades, two shadowy figures clashed in the center of the island platform.

Four dark wings, three tattered blades, two shadowy figures… one ravaged soul.

The smaller of the two—armed with only one sword—shook with rage as he desperately tried to force his blade through the other's defense. The other stood expressionless, watching his mirror reflection with great intent and curiosity.

"_You_…!" the smaller one roared; anger, hatred and malice blazing uncontrollably within his golden eyes. "_You bastard!__ You've stolen everything from me, everything! Because of you__ I've lost my life, my love, my future… __my everything_!"

Caelestis shook his head. "_Don't be stupid_." He said in an apathetic voice, never breaking his gaze. "_Ther__e is more to it than this life;__ I am living proof. Besides, you chose this for yourself. It was your choice_—"

"_**Choice**_?!" he exclaimed hysterically, pulling his blade back. "_**Choice**_?! _What __**choice**__ did I have in this_?"

Caelestis' eyes hardened as he spoke, small shards of anger breaking through. "_**I **__was__ the one who__ chose his__ friend over the world. __**You**__ were the one that chose to find a way to save _both_ worlds when everyone else had given up._" All of his composure disappeared as he carried on, his voice rising. "_**We**__ ch__ose this path! __**We**__chose to walk__ it alone in hopes keeping everyone else out of harm'__s way so__ we__ could take all the hits! __But d__i__d either of us__ think__ of what__ would __happen then?! Of course not, we__ just leapt into action without a single thought! I'm paying __the price for my__ damn negligence__ while you live the cushy life and make the same damn mistakes I did_!"

"_SHUT UP_!" he bellowed, brandishing his sword with rage as he pointed it at his counterpart. "_No matter what you say, you are not me!__ There's no way—_"

"_Lloyd Irving-__Aurion__, I am you__ displaced by time__ and born into a different world_!" Caelestis roared. "_We_ _share the same traits, the same blood, the same memories and the same __sou_—"

"_Then you should know what happens after this_!" Lloyd interjected; he hit a soft spot, as Caelestis only glowered in silence. Lloyd went on, "_If you're who you say you are, __then__ you should know how this ends!_"

A bitter silence spanned between the two.

"…_Well? __How does it end_?!"

Finally, he broke his gaze as he looked past his former self. "_It's… been a long time_…" He muttered, taking a step back. "_I've forgotten_." He paused, allowing a small, devious smirk to curl onto his dark features. "…_And even if I did remember… I have no need to tell you. …Why ruin the surprise ending?_" He finished as a dark mana set to work on the ground beneath him.

Lloyd hastily contemplated interrupting the spell, but found his hesitation had decided the matter for him. The dark matter swirled around Caelestis uncontrollably as he called, "_Ignis __Percutio_!"

Immediately, the ground beneath him turned to sweltering magma and he felt himself sinking in the pit. Columns of fire erupted around him as he found himself trapped in a ring of flames, his only escape being the space above. He promptly sheathed his lone sword and without a thought, transformed into a raven in a burst of light, spiraling upward within the cage. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a colossal halberd engulfed in flames screaming through the blanket of dark clouds headed directly towards him. He dove out of the way just before the lance struck the ground with a tremendous explosion, returning to his former appearance, he rolled onto his feet, checking his surroundings at a glance. He could have sworn he had seen Zelos and Sheena as he flew in, but did not see either of them in his rush.

What he did spot, however, seemed just as beneficial: his weapon's twin lay at the other edge of the arena. He didn't why it was there, or how it got there—it didn't matter. He had to get it.

Dashing to the opposite side of the arena, he extracted his one sword, carrying it in his dominant hand, in case he couldn't make it without any sort of combat along the way.

But Caelestis had seen it all before. He forcefully planted one of his blades into the marble tile, and lifted his free hand, shouting with a cruel smile, "_Aquilo_!"

In response, a fierce northern gale whipped past Lloyd, clashing and overthrowing the previously chilling eastern wind. He cried out softly as he saw the sword, slowly skitter to the edge of the island before dangling precariously at the ledge. Finally, it dropped, plunging into the rampant sea below.

Lloyd skidded to a halt, clutching his single sword tightly, and eyes burning with indescribable spite for the man who claimed to be him.

All the meanwhile, Zelos stood distantly beside Sheena atop the manor overlooking Maxwell's Monument in the height of the powerful squall. Sheena held tightly to the pointed tip of the roof akin in design to a top to a gothic cathedral; Zelos, fluorescent wings still aglow, did the same. She kept her eyes glued on the scene below, silent as the events unfolded before them. Finally, she broke her silence. "…Zelos, you knew the whole time that… that Lloyd gave you the Eternal Sword?"

He nodded, his tone mellow. "Yup, a few days before this whole fiasco started up, he told me all about everything and forfeited the right." He paused before adding. "He told me to keep it even afterwards. Made it sound like it was a burden."

She gave him a sad, but puzzled, look before returning to watch. A few moments passed before she began to slide her feet downwards hesitantly. "…We should help Lloyd."

Zelos gently tugged her arm, pulling her back up with him. He shook his head. "We can't. This isn't our place to intervene. Lloyd's fighting himself on this one." he chuckled slightly. "Literally, too, it seems. …But seriously, there was a reason I dropped my sword when I had the chance to finish the guy."

She looked up at him. "What's that?"

"…You'd laugh if I told you." He smiled, looking down at her. He turned his gaze back to the scene. "But I think you'll realize it, sooner or later."

Suddenly, Sheena gasped as an unexpected, strong north wind loosened her grip and she began to fall from her perch. She managed to grasp onto the slick ledge with one hand, but her grip was slowly weakening. Zelos braced himself as a second gale of the Aquilo spell rushed by them, but carelessly abandoned his stand as soon as it let up and ran to her aid.

"Sheena, hang on!" he called over the rumbling thunder, rain splashing in his eyes. He knelt down, grabbing her free hand. His heart jumped as he heard her release a small cry of surprise as her hand slipped from the edge and he nearly fell along with her. He made a blind grab for her other hand, and relaxed somewhat when he found her wrist. "I've got you, just keep hanging on!" he told her, although unsure of how exactly he would pull her up, as he was nearly dangling himself. The lower half of his torso remained on the ledge, exposing his only partially healed wound to the rain and elements as it threatened to tear open once more.

She noticed his uncertainty. "Zelos, you can't pull us both, but if you could just raise me a little bit more…"

He nodded, utilizing all his strength to lift her. She grasped the ledge once more, but firmly with both hands. "Okay, let go of me and get yourself up!"

Hurriedly, he released her and got to his feet before offering his arms again. She graciously took his offer and he gradually pulled her onto her feet. "Thank you, Zelos, thank you so much…" she uttered breathlessly, heart still racing.

Zelos' attention abruptly diverted back to the battle as he noticed Lloyd facing Caelestis with only one sword and his eyes caught on the edge of the island. "The sword…!" he exclaimed, "It fell off Exire! Lloyd's toast without it! That kid can't fight single-sword-edly to save his life…"

Without thinking, he soared from the manor top and under the floating island, disappearing into the mist.

"…So much for not helping." Sheena spat, shaking her head in disbelief.

In little time, Zelos arrived at the ocean's surface, first looking overhead, and then scanning the raging surface. After what seemed like hours, he spotted the weapon floating hardily atop crashing waves. He grabbed the water sodden blade and ascended with great haste.

The clash of metal rang out atop the tiny island as the two repeatedly exchanged drawn blows. Every couple strikes, Lloyd would surrender an awkward few steps backward, as he was insecure and ill prepared to defend himself with only one blade and without a shield. For the time being, he relied on the defensive tactic of simply parrying—and avoiding when possible—any potential hits, but he was terribly missing his second weapon… and it showed.

As Lloyd staggered backward, Caelestis unexpectedly launched himself forward, taking both blades in one hand and violently grabbed Lloyd's weaponless wrist while ensnaring his single sword between the two he carried in one hand. One flick of his wrist and Lloyd's sword was flung from his hand and he spun the boy around, pinning his arms behind his back.

Caelestis sighed as Lloyd struggled fruitlessly within his grasp. "_Though I'm pretty out of practice, the fact that I can still defeat you this easily makes me __wonder__ how either of us ever managed to beat __Yggdrasil._" He shook his head in dismay, letting go of him and delivering a hard kick to his back. "_And I used to think I was near my prime at this point_…" Lloyd groaned in anger and pain as he was sent stumbling until he helplessly landed on all fours on the tile.

He stepped forward, forcefully nudging the boy over onto his back with his foot as he returned to holding one sword in each hand. He pressed one of them under Lloyd's chin, exposing his neck as the boy's eyes burned with malice towards the man standing over him.

Caelestis' eyes hardened. "_This is… not how it ends_." He said, pulling back his sword.

Immediately, Zelos appeared over the edge of the platform, waving the missing twin in his hand. "Hey, bud! You forgettin' something?" He called.

Lloyd jumped to his feet. "_Zelos__ How did you_—?"

"Worry about that later." He laughed, handing Lloyd the wet blade. "Just take it; you need it. You look like a gimp out there with only one sword."

Lloyd nodded, ignoring the friendly jab. "_Zelos__, thank you_." As Zelos took off to rejoin Sheena atop the manor, Lloyd cautiously moved to recover his other sword that had been flung from his hand earlier. All the while, he kept an eye on his opponent, slightly puzzled when he made no moves, simply standing there with an impatient stare—as if he was waiting.

He picked up the sword, glowering in the silence. He readjusted his grip, holding his swords at in a ready position; Caelestis remained at ease.

The two stared one another down in the pouring rain, still and frozen as statues. Finally, Caelestis spoke with a jaded edge. "…_Well? Are you done_?"

Lloyd narrowed his eyes. "Of _course I am. …You should have finished me when you had the chance. Now that I have the upper hand, I'm going to make you regret letting me live_." He spat before suddenly grinning calculatingly as a truth dawned on him. "_It's hopeless for you and you know it. You can't kill me, if you did, you'd be killing your former self, and where would that leave you_?"

Caelestis remained silent, eyes even and expression unreadable.

"…_Face it_," Lloyd breathed. "_You're finished_."

He lowered his eyes, closing them. A small chuckle shook his frame before turning into an amused laugh. It's truly a shame we didn't receive our father's intelligence, he thought, a sudden pang of reminiscence telling him to keep this truth to himself, as he went on: My rebirth was only possible because of my, your, death. His laughter died to a mirthless smirk as he said, "_Whatever you say;__ whatever you say_."

He inwardly felt a twinge of smugness sprout inside him when he saw his words crawling under Lloyd's skin. Although he still could not recall the future that loomed ever nearer, he knew he had to do anything he could to make sure that the boy was willing to sacrifice everything. Even if he had to drop down to the level of taunting, ultimately, it made the light shining at the end of his path all the brighter, he hoped.

In an instant, they closed in on one another. Four rain splattered blades gleaming in the dim light as they clashed evenly with rapid strokes. Lloyd lurched forward, as if to attack once again, but threw his swords up in defense at the last minute; he pushed Caelestis backward, forcing his hand. He again jumped forward to pierce the breach in his enemy's guard, but before Lloyd could strike, he leapt backwards.

"_Psi Tempest_!" he called.

"_Guardian_!" Lloyd countered, the green sphere erecting just as his opposite passed over head. His sword screamed as they nearly penetrated the force field; it left Lloyd feeling a little bit drained, but with only a few scratches to show for it. As he turned, he yelled, "_Raging Beast_!" attempting to draw Caelestis in. Little luck there, but lion's roar grazed the man as he landed, staggering him for the moment.

Caelestis was quick to recover, however, for he already began to cast as Lloyd followed with, "_Double Demon Fang_!"

As the shockwaves reached him, they were literally devoured by the dark mana that swirled around Caelestis as he prepared his spell. He only cracked one eye open in distraction, a surprising thing as about a dozen thoughts were flashing in his mind. He needed an off-putting spell more than one that really did any damage; he needed a moment to prioritize.

"_Aquilo_!" he shouted as gales gathered behind him, screaming past him and towards their target. Lloyd braced himself for the hit.

The dark man distanced himself from him, and held his swords in a defensive position, just in case. Keeping one eye on Lloyd, he ran through his thoughts.

This is far from how I remember things going, he noted. It's gone on for too long, and neither of us have really stepped up and taken control of this. Admittedly, I haven't really been trying, but the fact of the matter is, things could easily stray from should happen unless I do something about it.

The howling winds began die and Lloyd started to push his way through toward Caelestis. He adjusted his stance slightly.

Should things stray, all of my torment for the past years will have been for naught. I've got to think… what was the closest memory I have to the end?

Lloyd was now coming at full force; Caelestis dropped his stance and ran to meet the attack.

The last memory I can salvage: I was covered in scratches and thin open wounds; my breaths were ragged and I had just skidded backwards from an onslaught. My muscles screamed in agony and I could feel my limbs begin to shake from exhaustion. I remember the burning hate I had felt for the merciless man. Just when I thought he would come in for another strike, he flashed a cruel, sinister smile and took off into the sky.

The two clashed evenly, their swords ringing with unearthly howls. They matched each other blow for blow, relentless.

I had called out to Zelos, at some time or another, and I told him to use the Eternal Sword. He didn't know exactly how to use it since I never told him, but he had finally figured out what he had to do. He had flown into the air, leaving Sheena alone on the mansion roof, and hovered in the air pointing the giant sword straight at my enemy of the time.

"_Tiger Blade_!" Lloyd called out, but Caelestis evaded the upper clout, and forced his swords upwards just as Lloyd brought his down. Caelestis easily overpowered the boy and sent him stumbling backwards a bit. Not at all phased, Lloyd bounced right back.

With all the strength left in me, I extended my battered wings and leapt into the air in attempts to distract my foe while Zelos prepared his shot. I felt my blood run cold as he glanced over his shoulder, acknowledging Zelos to me with a grin of all teeth. He looked ready to go after Zelos, so being the solitary fool I was, I vowed not to let that happen at any cost.

Once more, their blades sang out in shrieking harmony as they artfully battled at center stage.

I gathered all the mana I could draw, as I had witnessed my father do when he freed Origin, and focused every ounce of power into my hands. They glowed with a blinding light. I felt as if my very soul became siphoned into the orb hovering, pulsing before my hands.

When they reached a stalemate, Lloyd growled as he noticed his enemy's eyes were elsewhere. He broke back. "_Damn you_!" he yelled with a feverish rage. "_Stop toying with me_!" He charged in again with a renewed passion.

With a wordless cry, I shot the beam of light towards my enemy. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Zelos pull the sword back, and then swing, releasing a scorching ray of dazzling colors. I smiled, despite that I was fading fast. But with a horrid twist, Caelestis' hand glowed and, as my power screamed towards him, he swatted it away, sending it spiraling into the ocean. With his same hand, he fired an identical ray at me just as Zelos' was inches from his spine—

…And that's all I remember.

"_I'm sorry_." Caelestis said with unmatched sincerity. "_I should know how much you hate being toyed with_."

As Lloyd rushed in, he immediately found himself on the defensive as the strikes assaulting his guard became increasingly more rapid and harder to block, let alone evade. It wouldn't be too long until the hits started falling. But while he was busy fending off the blades that flew his way, he suddenly felt the wind escape him as a sharp pain struck his side and he stumbled away with an angry cringe.

Caelestis sheathed his swords and disappeared in a flash of light, quickly reappearing in the form of a dark Ktugach as he hit the ground running. With a deep bark, flames shot out from the ground behind Lloyd as his enemy charged ever nearer. He decided to follow in his suit; to fight fire with fire and he waited until Caelestis lunged into the air until he belted his swords and transformed in a wild blaze. A large, golden phoenix rose from the ashes, sending lines of fire at the ktugach.

Although a bit charred from the explosion, Caelestis was extremely comfortable on his feet as he ducked in and out of the incinerating infernos. Meanwhile, Lloyd felt a bit off balance shooting and flying at the same time, but he was determined not to show it. Although, when he saw how effortlessly his attacks were thwarted, he abandoned the avian form and returned to normal, dropping down onto the surface.

As soon as he dropped, he realized what a poor decision he had made, as he whole vision was veiled by smoke as it poured from the dying blazes set upon the ancient tile, but before he could return to the air, the ktugach burst from through the smoke. Lloyd could not throw his defense up in time before he was forced to the ground by a pair of searing paws.

Instinctively, Caelestis thrust his gaping jaws over the neck of his prey, but hastily withdrew. Whittle him down, he reminded himself. Instead, he aimed for the boy's shoulder, his pristine canines biting deep, chipping the bone as the warm crimson liquid pooled into his mouth. He resisted the instinct to jerk back, as he detested the taste of blood.

He saw Lloyd's right arm stir out of the corner of his eye, and hurriedly jumped off, returning before he landed. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he knelt, placing both hands flat against the earth.

If he's not going to employ the Eternal Sword at this point, I have to coax him into saying it, Caelestis told himself. He knows how to combat the soul gathering well enough, so I'll have to bombard him from all sides at once so he won't have the spare capacity to fight back, if only for the second. My timing has to be just right.

Lloyd shook off the pain in his shoulder, wearily eyeing Caelestis to predict his next move, seeing as charging in recklessly had earned him nothing but burns and blood the times before. The ground beneath him began to rumble threateningly.

"_Silens __Vallum_!" Caelestis called, immediately rising and running towards his opponent with a single sword withdrawn. Like two mighty hands, the earth ensnared Lloyd at the ankles as the ground around him began to crumble. He spread his wings, ready for flight when the land would finally give way to gravity and prepared himself for whatever might come. An earthen spire jutted out just before Caelestis reached him, blocking the scene to Zelos and Sheena. But instead of unleashing a sword arte, he arbitrarily reached out and wrapped his hand around the boy's neck.

"_Heed my call and gather before me_!" He hissed as he ran past Lloyd, his hand still firmly around the neck. "_**Soul Harvest**_!"

Lloyd didn't allow himself to be baffled for more than a moment, as stone pillars erupted around him like trees from the ground with only moments before one of them came close enough to graze, if not injure him. He held up one sword to initiate Guardian when his strength began to drain.

Every corner in his mind was filled with a howling screech. If not for his feet being rooted in the ground, he surely would have fallen over as he clenched his hands on his head. He couldn't possibly shut his eyes any tighter. His muscles drained of energy; they burned feverishly, as if they were crawling under his own skin. He lost control of his breathing, sputtering out in gasps as he fought desperately against the forces around him and inside.

The spell ceased, leaving Lloyd standing tall and unharmed in the center, his golden eyes glowing blood-red. Caelestis masked a smirk as he felt fully in control of the presence opposite him. However, he hesitated, unsure of how to go about completely controlling both himself and his puppet at the same time, especially with the most intricate details to mimic their mêlée as if the break had never occurred. The times he had successfully manipulated Lloyd he could count on one hand, but during those moments he was in isolation and simply tapped into the boy's sight, utilizing his own body as the control bar. Animeus was a different story as well, where he completely dislodged the hideous side of him sprouted during his time in the War of Thorns, using it to slowly contaminate and infiltrate Lloyd's body and conscience.

He would preoccupy himself with a simple task, yet convincing, task, and then set Lloyd to work. He had to be efficient, after all. How long he could hold his grip upon his alternate's mind, he did not know.

Caelestis took a defensive stance as he selected a spell and set to work, dark mana surrounding him like a shadowy mist. He shut his eyes, focus sharpening.

Lloyd snapped to, seeing his opposite taking time to cast another spell, he knew he had some time to think up his next move. However, even he could tell that, at the rate things were heading, continuing on in this manner could spell real trouble. He hated to admit it, but he was going to have to drag another person into the line of fire. He trusted this person immensely, but he still felt a twinge of guilt as he felt himself ascend into the air. He headed towards the mansion top, but subconsciously kept a safe distance from them, just in case the spell was fired off earlier than expected.

"_Zelos_!" He shouted through the pouring rain. "_I need you to use the Eternal Sword! Use the power of the Eternal Sw__ord to_—" he hesitated, suddenly feeling empty headed, forgetting his thought entirely. "—_do something_!" he finished lamely, almost exasperatedly.

Caelestis slowly opened his eyes, hastening the flow and ebb of the dark mana. He felt slightly light-headed; dazed. Was he… casting? Perhaps. He cut the spell short, tucking it up his sleeve for later use when he could remember which one it was, and silently took off, energized for an aerial match.

Zelos found himself at a loss for words. Clearly, he hadn't expected a turn in events such as this. What's more, he inwardly cowed at the thought of having to wield the Eternal Sword in a moment as vital as this. The blade itself didn't frighten him—he'd had worse encounters with razors as a preteen to ever make him fear any other alike instrument; though his skin would never show for it—but the power it held made him think twice about ever picking it up. Yggdrasil had created Cruxis, the Summon Spirits, even a whole new world with just a flick of the mighty sword; what possible consequences could one wrong swing behold?

Needless to say, he didn't want to find out.

"Zelos!" Sheena urged him, pulling him back into reality. "Didn't you hear him? You have to help! Hurry, get the Eternal Sword!"

Fumbling with his words, he turned from her, to the battle, and back again. Finally, he sputtered, "I don't know how! I don't know how to summon it or anything!"

She avoided rolling her eyes when she realized it wasn't as much of an obvious issue as she first thought, seeing as she didn't completely know, herself. But she could guess—so long as Zelos didn't know it. "Okay, just focus the power into your hands, and envision that you're holding the sword." She told him, making conjectures from her summoning experiences. She figured summoning a legendary weapon and a legendary spirit couldn't be all that different. "Make sure you don't forget your purpose."

Zelos nearly lost his balance as a sudden weight was dropped into his open hand. Bathed in a mystical purple glow, the Eternal Sword rested within his grasp. He ran his eyes along the magnificent blade, sharply inhaling as he felt its power surge through him like a cold wave. He shivered.

Tearing her eyes from the seeming miracle, Sheena's gaze lifted to the clashing pair against the murky sky. Her heart froze over with fear, but nothing was awry… yet. "Go," she whispered, unable to say anymore.

Eyes hardened with a forced determination, he nodded resolutely. He flew off.

Aerial combat definitely was Caelestis's strong point; naturally, Lloyd wasn't too shabby, either. He came back from each round with another cut, but at the same time, he wasn't wholly disgruntled. He could feel the winds slowly changing, and hopefully in his favor. He just had to be patient.

But patience would not allow him a constant perfect defense, as a sudden fatigue began to weigh him down. He wasn't accustomed to the constant exertion aerial combat required, not to mention balance and grace.

Blood splattered, raining from the sky. It splashed upon the ruined, scorched tile; rain water pelted it, the crimson quickly disappearing into the run-off.

Lloyd gasped, hanging limp on his enemy's blade. Its cold steel pierced through his shoulder.

A pause. Caelestis shouted, "_Sword Rain_—"

But before he could finish the call, Lloyd's golden eyes flashed as his veins pounded with adrenaline. He swung his sword outward, overpowering his opponent's attempted strike, the tip of his blade slicing through Caelestis' skin just below the neck. It ran deep and spanned the width of his chest.

Losing his balance in the air, Lloyd half fell, half descended until his feet met the ground, immediately looking upward. Enraged, Caelestis maintained his composure as liquid crimson dripped from his wound. However, as soon as he dropped to the ground, he allowed his rage to manifest as he screamed, "_Perish_!"

A golden light flashed around his arm as the dark mana he'd been withholding encircled him. The line exploded from his grasp and spiraled at Lloyd, an unearthly howl screaming in its wake.

An unrivaled determination flashed in his eyes; faced with the choice of fight or flight as the surge of power rushed towards him, it was obvious he would do nothing less than stand his ground. Lloyd held his twin blades crossed before him, sliding one foot backwards. The light became incredible; it forced his eyes shut as the searing radiance cruelly caressed him, its touch dangerously ominous.

The ray hit him with a colossal display of sheer force and sly counter defensive tactics. Paralysis crept through his limbs as they threatened to crumple beneath his own weight at any given moment. Although, the paralysis had no numbing effects—he could still feel the hellish heat bite into his skin, the flames like fangs of a wicked serpent. Too focused on holding his own against the onslaught of forces, he found his own breath strangling him. The raw power began to compromise his position and he felt himself slowing sliding backwards. His limbs began to shake, the paralysis taking full effect. He could feel his own skin begin to burn. All instincts told him to run, but the blinding light kept his eyes glued shut, and he had the sense enough to know on a relatively small, floating island, running in any direction blindly was not a good idea.

All the hellish torments began to die down, and he could feel the end coming like a wave of relief. The paralysis' grip loosened slightly, but in its place came a thousand needles threading through his frame, but he could sense the light dimming and he desperately pressed forward against the blast.

The light disappeared, leaving Lloyd, clearly battered yet still defiant, skidding backwards upon the tile. His multiple scratches had seemingly caught flame as they had expanded, blackened and raw as new warm blood pooled within them. Raven feathers fell from his tattered wings, charred and useless. His shoulder felt limp, as if resting upon his upper torso while the rest of his senses rang agonizingly. But without regard for the pain, he glared towards Caelestis with a burning hatred—and in his current state, it could have been a literal truth.

He pushed the fact from his mind of who this man was, or claimed to be, as Lloyd battled within himself to keep his mind in check. He trembled unwillingly from exhaustion but stood firmly, prepared and ready for another bout.

But instead, his opposite did not initiate. Instead, he looked downward at his own wound, gingerly letting the sickeningly hot crimson liquid run through his fingers. He then looked back at Lloyd, shaking the droplets from his hand with a sinister smile. Dark wings spread, he took to the sky once more.

In no mood for another aerial round, Lloyd was determined to remain comfortably on his feet when he saw an orange and purple glow against the navy silhouettes of the town's houses. He recognized Zelos and the Eternal Sword immediately and saw a way out. Begrudgingly, he slowly rose into the air with his battered wings for, what he hoped to be, the last time.

Lloyd gathered a breath to call out to his enemy, a taunting, hopeful, diversion. But the name caught in his throat as he stopped when the dark man glanced over his shoulder, as if to acknowledge what was occurring behind him. Lloyd felt his blood run cold. If he knew what was going on, then surely Zelos would become his first and primary target. That couldn't… no, wouldn't, he willed, happen.

Sheena, one rain sodden hand latched to the pointed tip of the rooftop, raised a hand to her mouth in intuitive fear, her white knuckles pressed against her lips. She knew that expression. And she knew that Lloyd had stopped fighting for himself. "Don't do it…" she pleaded soundlessly against her knuckles, watching on even though she knew he had not heard her.

If his presence was not enough to draw Caelestis' attention, Lloyd knew he had to give him good reason to focus on him and him alone. He had to concentrate his mana—that would surely grab his attention, if even for a second.

Cupping his hands in front of him, Lloyd drew every speck of mana he could gather, just as he remembered his father doing before Origin's seal. Except, this time, he would not simply be freeing it into the air. He focused the mana into a glowing, pulsing sphere floating over the palms of his hands. He poured more and more energy into it, watching as it grew in size and power. Before long, it became, of Lloyd's own will, like a vacuum as even he felt himself being drawn into the expanding sphere.

Before long, he felt the powerful ball pulsating in his grasp as it held every speckle of energy, of him, he could muster. With a wordless cry, he released it, aiming the raging beam directly at Caelestis.

Caelestis watched calmly as the powerful beam came screaming towards him. He glanced behind him; Zelos had been gaining a credible amount of power with the Eternal Sword. He would have little—if any—time between the two shots, much less if he was to get his own fired off as well. But he had seen it done before, and if Fate willed it be so, then so it would be.

Right arm crossed over his chest, he waited until the beam settled the right distance from him. When it did, he unleashed his own brand of mana throughout his hand and struck the beam, sending it askew and spiraling miserably into the raging sea. It hit the water with a tremendous splash.

With no time to waste, he transformed that mana into his own rampant beam, hurling it straight towards the defenseless—seemingly lifeless—Lloyd.

He realized with sudden spike of exhilaration, that he did not yet feel the flames from the Eternal Sword's judgment licking at his back. He had time to evade the second shot.

But Fate would not let him.

In the blink of an eye, his final memory resurfaced, along with his Sight. It froze him in the air as he felt sand all around him and an uncomfortable coldness amongst a humid, ocean sprayed environment. Peace. Tranquility. Finality.

It was then he could feel the Eternal Sword's judgment hot and foreboding upon his shoulders. He did not move as he at last understood why his final memory did not resurface until this critical moment.

…There was nothing _to_ remember.

-----

"…so then Lloyd fired, but the guy managed to throw it off and shoot him instead. I shot with the Eternal Sword as soon as Lloyd did, and as soon as mine hit the guy—done. Both of them just… disappeared." Zelos concluded.

All during Zelos' recollection of the incident and how it happened, Sheena remained detached and quiet.

Genis shook his head in disbelief. He opened and closed his mouth several times before finally voicing. "So that Guy… Caelestis? He was actually Lloyd?"

"Yup…" Zelos said, hesitating. "…But I couldn't really hear all of what they were saying since Sheena and I kept a safe distance during the fight—"

"But why?" Colette asked, trying her hardest not to sound accusing. "Why didn't you help him?"

All eyes were on him and Sheena. Sheena averted her gaze away from the group and Zelos winced slightly, trying to form words. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Aw come on, Angel. Don't say it like that. It's not like… We just…" He grunted, muttering, "Okay, yeah, this is going to sound really stupid, I know, but it… just wasn't our place to interfere. They were just on a complete 'nother level, like in a world of their own. And even if we did jump in, I've never fought with such a huge thing like the Eternal Sword, and I don't think Sheena's cards would have had much, if any, effect. We would have just gotten in Lloyd's way."

"…Caelestis was able to change forms freely… a shape-shifter." Sheena filled in quietly. "Lloyd, too."

Raine frowned, "A shape-shifter? Both of them?" she repeated skeptically. "But none of the creatures we encountered demonstrated that ability. Perhaps it was just the two of them? Though I that wouldn't make sense…"

"I can't explain that, but," Sheena responded distantly, "Maxwell knew of this. He said they were all shape-shifter kin, escaping from their world because of a disastrous war."

Presea blinked. "So… they were in search of shelter?"

Zelos sighed. "When you say it like that…" he trailed off, slightly cringing.

Presea didn't understand. She tilted her head to the side, blue eyes blankly inquisitive. "…Did I say it incorrectly?"

A moment of silence spanned between them, none sure how to answer her honest question. After a while, Colette frowned slightly, satisfied with their response for the time being—or she had simply forgotten her previous inquiry. She spoke slowly. "Wait, I still don't understand…" she then reiterated, "They just disappeared? …Maybe they got sent somewhere? Would that be possible?"

"It is possible," Kratos replied, arms crossed over his chest, eyes closed. "…but highly unlikely."

Zelos shook his head adamantly. "No. I know for sure they couldn't have gotten sent anywhere. I just know it."

"But to say they simply disappeared…" Presea trailed off, staring blankly ahead, but eyes quivering as if going through mental calculations. "…It does not make sense."

For a moment, a heavy silence stretched between them. Unsteadily, Genis spoke up, looking down at the ground. "Well… if they just disappeared, then what else could it mean besides… death?"

No one could answer his question.

Raine pursed her lips at the soberness that drowned the once lively group of people before her. Though it was not like her, she wanted to break the solemn silence with an attempt at an upbeat tone, but she knew she would have to watch her words closely as to not sound insensitive. But before she could do that, she had to get them over the loss. "…I never thought things would turn out like this." She began gravely. "It's only been a little over a year since we brought the two worlds together, and already we've… lost someone to the events of this new world."

"…Yggdrasil always said the worlds were better separated." Kratos stated broodingly. "…He's laughing wherever he is now."

Genis shook his head, looking down at the ground. His violet eyes were dim. "I… I just don't know what to think. Lloyd seemed perfectly normal just a few weeks ago and everything was fine. It seemed like nothing could have gone wrong…" he paused. "It all just happened so suddenly… I thought I… I thought we knew him, that he wouldn't do something like this… I thought he trusted us…" Genis trailed off, sorrowful.

Regal picked up on the boy's betrayed tone, assuring, "I wouldn't call it a betrayal. He never did us any lasting damage, and fought for our same cause in the end. It was more of… an issue of secrecy, that's all."

Kratos shook his head. "…You all speak of him like he saved us all—like he's some sort of _hero_." He spat at the word 'hero', alluding bitterly towards Mithos' tale. "He's just an idiot who couldn't learn from the mistakes of those who came before him. …And he paid the ultimate price for it." He sighed heavily. "He betrayed our trust of his better judgment… That's how I see it."

Colette's heart ached at the words that poured from Kratos, her eyes wide and appalled. Her eyes were becoming wet. "Kratos…! How—"

"How can you say that? He was your own son!" Zelos snarled, his eyes ablaze in disbelief and anger. He closed the gap between them in a few quick strides, flared up. "Don't you care about him at all?! He was your only son, and you cast him to the lions! And now that he's dead, all you can do is point out what he did wrong? …You're heartless!"

Immediately, Raine pulled the former Chosen backward a few steps, her hands tightly gripping his shoulders. "Zelos, calm down. Everyone has different ways of coping wi—"

"_Coping_?!" he repeated incredulously with a horrible laugh. "If that's coping, I don't even wanna know what he's like when he's angry!"

"You'll find out soon enough unless you calm down." Raine hissed, authority firmly backing her words.

Angrily, he threw her hands off his shoulders, shouting, "How can I relax?! The first person to truly trust me and see any worth in me is dead!" he then groaned, "This is all so stupid! It's just ridiculous! He thought he had to do this all by himself… That idiot!"

"I'm glad you see it my way." Kratos muttered, without a trace of emotion. " Now, Zelos, I need you to use the Eternal Sword and send me back to Derris-Kharlan."

"…Already?" Colette asked, tilting her head to the side.

He nodded. "The longer I spend here, the farther Derris-Kharlan drifts from this planet. Before too long, it will be out of the reach of even the Eternal Sword. …And I cannot stay here."

Zelos snorted, with still a few feathers ruffled. "Too many memories, huh?" He uncrossed his arms and summoned the Eternal Sword, exchanging glares with the Seraph.

"Do you know how to use it?" Kratos questioned cautiously.

"I can figure it out." Zelos replied coldly, pointing it patiently in his direction.

With a loud whine, Noishe ran towards the Seraph from his position in the back of group. He stood before his, brown eyes heartbreaking as he stared up pleadingly at his first master. His tail hung low between his legs, and his oversized ears flopped down near his head. He pawed at Kratos with another pitiful whine.

"No, Noishe." Kratos murmured, lightly stroking the protozoan's head. "You have to stay here. You have to stay here and…" he paused. He could feel the words forming in the back of his mouth. You have to stay here and protect Lloyd for me.

He then remembered his own words a long time ago in the carefree city of Hima. He could still feel the uneasiness tense his muscles as if it were still the day before he led them into the trap. _"__That's funny." He pointed out mirthlessly. "__If what it means to protect the __Chosen is to cling to her in a__ time __of need, then the word 'protect'__ must have changed significantly from my understanding.__"_

Kratos felt a wave of guilt and shame rush over him, for his actions had been no different. Although he hadn't really been given any alternative role in the scheme of things, he hadn't been there to at least see how his son met his end. Come to think of it… he really hadn't been there at all.

Noticing the growing silence, he lifted his hand from the dog's head. "…You have to stay here and… evolve." He finished slowly; even Noishe could tell how shallow his words had become. The dog whined softly, sliding his wet muzzle under the man's hand before licking it in a final farewell tribute. As soon as he removed his hand from the dog's reach, Noishe hung his head and backed away, never letting his crestfallen gaze leave his first beloved master.

Kratos then nodded stiffly, gazing over at those around him. "Good luck with this world. I wish you the best." He bade; Zelos flicked the sword, and he disappeared into a flash of light. The ground where he once stood became barren, and Zelos dismissed the powerful blade. He turned from the group, walking off.

"Excuse me. I need a moment to think." He said.

They were silent as they watched Zelos storm off, but none of them felt it ill at ease to stand there simply in the presence of one another. It had been quite a while since they had all gathered as a group under peaceful circumstances. Though it was cruel, in its own way, the silence offered them solace, and only a fool would let it pass them by.

-----

The group spent the next few days at Zelos' mansion, Raine and Regal, as the eldest of the group, wary to let anyone go through this alone. Although it wasn't everyone's first experience with the death of someone close to them, it didn't change how they were affected by it. It did help.

And so the days came and went and after a while, duos and individuals began to branch off and say their good-byes once more. Regal was the first to leave, as his duties at the Lezareno Corporation were far from over. Presea was next, and, although the bombard of unfamiliar emotions had rattled her, she managed her steel veneer and set off back to Ozette to help rebuild her hometown.

A day thereafter, Raine and Genis set out their campaign once more, escorting the crestfallen Colette home along the way. Sheena opted to leave behind them, but Zelos implored her to stay another night. Although he normally had sketchy intentions when asking the sort of favor, she knew it wasn't like that. She figured maybe he was really taking this hard, or perhaps he didn't want her travelling back to Mizuho by foot out in the rain since the Rheairds had all been taken. Nevertheless, she wasn't ungrateful for the offer and took him up on it.

As the rest of the day came to show, he just was a little in need of company for another day. Although, he seemed to be even more broody than before, or ever. This slightly unnerved Sheena, but she didn't say anything towards it.

It was early the next morning when Sheena decided to take her leave. Zelos arose to see her off, dark circles traced under his lively blue eyes—he hadn't slept well the previous nights. As she gathered her belongings together, she brooded in a thick silence. She appeared ready to set off when she set her belongings down.

"…Zelos," she finally said, her voice rasp from little use. He looked to meet her gaze. She cleared her throat a bit, "I, uh…"

But he simply gave her an understanding smile. It gave her the courage to go on. "You've… been there for me this whole time and… I really appreciate it. We might not always get along, but… you're really a good person."

His eyes softened as he continued to smile, his gratitude and relief manifesting in his stature. He paused a moment before asking, "Where are you headed?"

Sheena blinked. "…To Mizuho…" she responded slowly. "…Where else?"

He shook his head, taking one step closer so she could tell he was serious. "No… where are you _really_ headed?"

When she saw the look he wore, she immediately cast her gaze downward. Stuttering, she ran her fingers through her raven hair. "S-so you noticed…"

"Of course." He replied smoothly. "It just wouldn't settle right with you after something like this to just go back to Mizuho, now would it?" he chuckled softly. "Come on. I know you better than you like to think."

"I guess so," Sheena stated, a bit flustered. She hesitated before continuing. "I'm… I'm going to start where… Lloyd left off. I'm going to rid the world of all the exspheres so that no other souls have to suffer. Maybe by helping them, I hope it will soothe my own as well… And… you know, maybe… I just have this feeling that I'll find what I've been looking for somewhere along the way. Something tells me to start… with Izoold."

Zelos perked at this. "_Izoold_? You mean, you think somethin's still out there for you in that tiny fisherman's village?"

Slightly embarrassed, she sputtered, "I-I don't know…" she rubbed the back of her head, chocolate eyes looking downward. "I just have this feeling, alright? I think if something's still out there for me, then I might as well go find it… y'know?"

"I understand." He nodded gently. He remained silent before the soft padding and sound of nails clicking against the wood floors caught their attention.

Noishe meandered out from the hallway, still mellow. He understood what had happened, though still couldn't fathom that both his first and young companions had both left him alone in the world. The protozoan was pitifully heartbroken; his enormous ears sagged, his tail dragged on the ground behind him and his head hung low. He was a miserable sight to behold.

He trodded over to Sheena, his muscles sore as he had barely moved since their arrival here a few days previous. His skin had begun to hang closely to his frame. He brushed past Zelos, nuzzling Sheena's legs as only a dog could. He curled himself around her before placing his muzzle under her hand, looking up at her with hopeful brown eyes.

Zelos grinned. "Well it looks like Noishe has found his new travelling companion, huh?" He then laughed, "I didn't think he could fit in as a lap dog here anyway."

Sheena looked down at the trust-filled dog; she wore a glimpse of a smile. "Is that true, Noishe?" he asked, rubbing his head softly. "Are you coming with me?"

Noishe's tail wagged weakly, but his eyes became ever stronger with each stroke.

Quietness spanned between them as they looked into the brown eyes of the protozoan. It reminded them both of his young master. "…You know…" Zelos started softly, unsure as he began. "Lloyd, uh… before all this—we would occasionally get in touch, y'know? He never really took a break from what he did, but he'd take the night off here and there. We'd always spar or talk or whatever pretty late into the night and… no matter what the topic, he'd always somehow come back to you." He chuckled lightly at the memory. "If he wasn't bombarding me with questions about you and how you were—not that I really knew, but he always asked—he'd be saying stuff like, 'I really miss Sheena', or, 'I wonder if Sheena would ever be able to leave Mizuho', or, 'Man, I really wish Sheena could've joined me'. Things like that. …He was always thinking about you."

Her smile faded when she realized, "In the end, though, that's what… killed him." When Zelos gave her an inquisitive look, she elaborated quietly. "I always told him to stop trying to fight for everyone else, and to stop worrying so much about the world and everyone in it. But he never did. I tried to convince him to fight for himself, but he never seemed to take my advice."

Sheena could feel her eyes begin to burn and her head began to twinge. She pursed her lips together tightly, attempting to rub away her the wetness in her eyes discreetly by pretending to be rubbing at her temples. But it wasn't fooling Zelos.

Before she knew it, he had closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her with pitying eyes. She felt herself tense, at first, but as she knew she could no longer hold her tears back, she let herself fall into his embrace. She brought her hands down to her chest and hid her face under his chin.

"I'm so sorry, Sheena." He whispered, kissing her softly on the cheek.

-----

Kratos could not tear his gaze from the window inside of the tiny planet as the world he once knew and sought to protect glimmered, a distant memory soon to disappear amidst the vast darkness of space. He could not stop envisioning the past and what he left behind, even though he knew it was for the better, if the worlds were to begin anew.

Still, every memory pulled at his heart; he could still hear Martel's cheery voice, a young and innocent Mithos' laughter, Anna's melodic tone and his young son's bubbly giggles. He could still feel every fiber from the past at his fingertips, but as soon as he twitched to clench it, a blast of cold reality pushed it out of his grip.

Maybe now he knew what true loneliness was.

A few rooms down, Yuan typed away madly at a keyboard, occasionally glancing up at the screens surrounding him as he scanned the flickering images for the resemblance of an odd mana trace detected drifting through the ocean. The further they went, the weaker the signal became, but he was determined to find the source and product of the disturbance. If it could save him having to travel an eternity with a brooding, disheartened friend, then he would do whatever he could.

He ran one hand through his blue hair, muttering under his breath as he flipped from image to image. Suddenly, he stopped, leaning in towards the screen, his green eyes growing wide. He found it.

"Kratos," He called. "Come in here, quick."

A few moments later, the man trudged into the room, gazing with empty eyes at the various screens. Yuan typed in a few more commands and the image he had focused on consumed the whole width of the wall.

"…Look at this…" Yuan murmured, pointing towards the flickering oceanscape. Kratos leaned over his shoulder, squinting to make out the form lying in the wet tidal sands. He slowly pulled back, a skeptical realization beginning to take shape.

Yuan leaned back, a genuine smiled curled on his lips.

_**Fin…**_

-----

**Post Note**: As a courtesy to the end chapter, I ask you, please leave a review, be it anonymous, signed it; anything. Even if you've never left a review before. I just want to know how many people I've been able to reach through my writing.

The next story in this series will give closure to the events here. It will be three chapters long and take place in three arcs, entitled "Fated to be Free". I hope to get it out within a month or so.

Now that this is over, for the time being, if you are still interested in any action/adventure fics of mine, then I recommend _Prisoner of War_, a dark-romantic piece, and _The Brothers Wilder_, a more light-hearted adventure work.

Well, then. Until Fated to be Free. Thank you all for your support!

Ark Navy


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